[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8199-H8200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SHALE GAS PRODUCTION

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

[[Page H8200]]

  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last week, the United 
States Energy Information Administration published its Today in Energy 
report, which illustrated that shale gas provided the largest share of 
U.S. natural gas production in 2013.
  According to the report, gross withdrawals from shale gas increased 
to 33 billion cubic feet in 2013, representing 40 percent of total 
natural gas production and surpassing production from nonshale gas 
wells.
  According to EIA, production in Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, and 
Arkansas accounted for 79 percent of the total shale gas extraction 
nationwide, and Pennsylvania has become the second largest shale gas-
producing State.
  I should note that, in 2007, shale gas made up just 8 percent of the 
total natural gas produced in the United States, with Texas alone 
counting for 63 percent of the total production nationally. Continuing 
a trend, production gains have enabled a decline in natural gas imports 
for the sixth straight year, reaching the lowest level since 1995.
  Mr. Speaker, due to the innovation of private industry, our domestic 
energy resources are now easier to attain at a much lower cost, which 
is benefiting the American consumer and our Nation's economic 
competitiveness.

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