Annual Energy Outlook 2006 with Projections to 2030 - Usinfo.org

Overviewof net petroleum imports grows to 62 percent ofdemand in 2030 in the AEO2006 reference case.Despite an expected increase in distillation capacityat domestic refineries in AEO2006, net imports ofrefined petroleum products account for a growingportion of total net imports, increasing from 17 percentin 2004 to 22 percent in 2030.Total domestic natural gas production, excluding supplementalnatural gas supplies, increases from 18.5trillion cubic feet in 2004 to 21.6 trillion cubic feet in2019, before declining to 20.8 trillion cubic feet in2030 in the AEO2006 reference case. In 2025, domesticnatural gas production is projected to be 21.2 trillioncubic feet, compared with 21.8 trillion cubic feetin the AEO2005 reference case. The lower level ofdomestic natural gas production in the AEO2006 referencecase is entirely attributable to lower levels ofoffshore production. Offshore natural gas productionin 2025 is lower in the AEO2006 reference case than itwas in AEO2005, due at least in part to the impacts ofHurricanes Katrina and Rita, which are expected todelay offshore drilling projects because of a lack ofrigs and to have a long-term effect on production levelsas a result of the slow recovery of production fromexisting fields.The incorporation of EIA data showing a lower levelof new reserve discoveries in 2004 than had beenanticipated also affects the long-term forecast for offshorenatural gas production. Lower 48 offshore productionis projected to fall slightly from the 2004 levelof 4.3 trillion cubic feet and then grow steadilythrough 2015, peaking at 5.1 trillion cubic feet as newresources come on line in the Gulf of Mexico. After2015, lower 48 offshore production declines to 4.3 trillioncubic feet in 2025 and 4.0 trillion cubic feet in2030. In the AEO2005 reference case, offshore naturalgas production was projected to increase morequickly and reach higher levels, peaking at 5.3 trillioncubic feet in 2014 before falling to 4.9 trillion cubicfeet in 2025. The projection for onshore production ofnatural gas is also generally lower for most of the projectionperiod in the AEO2006 reference case thanwas projected in AEO2005. In the later years of theAEO2006 reference case, however, with higher naturalgas prices, onshore production grows strongly, to14.7 trillion cubic feet in 2025—equal to the AEO-2005 projection. Projected onshore production inAEO2006 remains at the 2025 level through 2030.Lower 48 production of unconventional natural gas isexpected to be a major contributor to growth in U.S.natural gas supplies. Unconventional natural gas productionis projected to account for 45 percent ofdomestic U.S. natural gas production in 2030, ascompared with the AEO2005 reference case projectionof 39 percent in 2025. In AEO2006, however,unconventional natural gas production is lower in themid-term (between 2006 and 2020) than was projectedin AEO2005. The lower levels of production inAEO2006 before 2021 reflect a decline in overall naturalgas consumption in response to higher prices.Starting in 2021, the projected levels of unconventionalnatural gas production in the AEO2006 referencecase are higher than those in AEO2005, reaching9.5 trillion cubic feet in 2030.Construction planning for the Alaska natural gaspipeline is expected to start soon, and the new pipelineis expected to be completed by 2015. When thepipeline goes into operation, Alaska’s total naturalgas production is projected to increase to 2.2 trillioncubic feet in 2025 (from 0.4 trillion cubic feet in 2004),the same level as projected in the AEO2005 referencecase.The projection for net U.S. pipeline imports of naturalgas from Canada and Mexico (predominantly Canada)in the AEO2006 reference case in 2025 is 1.3trillion cubic feet lower than was projected in AEO-2005. AEO2006 projects a continued decline in netpipeline imports, to 1.2 trillion cubic feet in 2030, as aresult of depletion effects and growing domesticdemand in Canada. The AEO2006 reference casereflects an expectation that growth in Canada’sunconventional natural gas production (primarilyfrom coal seams) will not be adequate to offset adecline in conventional production in Alberta, basedin part on data and projections from Canada’sNational Energy Board and other sources.Growth in LNG imports is projected to meet much ofthe increased demand for natural gas in the AEO2006reference case, but the increase is less than was projectedin the AEO2005 reference case. The growth inLNG imports is moderated by three factors: highernatural gas prices reduce domestic consumption;higher world oil prices increase worldwide demandfor natural gas and LNG imports, which raises theprice of LNG; and, to a lesser extent, higher world oilprices lead to higher foreign demand for GTL production,which uses more natural gas as a feedstock,further increasing the price pressure on natural gasand LNG. Except for expansions of three of the fourexisting onshore U.S. LNG terminals (Cove Point,Maryland; Elba Island, Georgia; and Lake Charles,Louisiana), the completion of U.S. terminals currentlyunder construction, and the addition of newfacilities to serve the Gulf Coast, Southern California,Florida, and New England, no other new facilities areEnergy Information Administration / Annual Energy Outlook 2006 9