US Lower-48 natural gas output rises 1.3% to 73.22 Bcf/d in February: EIA

Houston (Platts)--30Apr2013/1230 pm EDT/1630 GMT

Natural gas production in the US Lower-48 states in February rose to 73.22 Bcf/d, up 1.3%, or 920,000 Mcf/d, from January's output, the US Energy Information Administration said in its monthly gross production report, released Tuesday.

February output was up from revised average production of 72.3 Bcf/d in January, EIA said.

Other states had the largest volume increase, at 2.1%, or 520,000 Mcf/d, as new wells in the Marcellus and Bakken shales were brought online, according to EIA.
Texas rose 1.4%, or 300,000 Mcf/d, as new wells came online in the Eagle Ford shale. New Mexico also contributed with a 6.8%, or 220,000 Mcf/d, increase as warmer weather returned, the EIA said.

Meanwhile, the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana reported decreases of 2%, or 80,000 Mcf/d, and 1%, or 70,000 Mcf/d, respectively, as repairs and well maintenance required shut-ins, the EIA said.

US production totaled 82.88 Bcf/d in February, up 0.8% from a revised 82.2 Bcf/d in January.

--Samantha Santa Maria, samantha_santa_maria@platts.com
--Edited by Valarie Jackson, valarie_jackson@platts.com

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