Demand in the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana and Texas grew by 116%, or 16.0 billion ft3/d, driven largely by increased demand for feed gas for LNG exports. US LNG exports began in 2016, with the start-up of the Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Other terminals in both states began exporting LNG soon after, prompting most of the growth in natural gas demand.
Increased natural gas-fired electric power generation was the second-most significant factor in natural gas demand growth because of coal-to-gas switching and rising demand for air conditioning. Total natural gas demand in Midwest US grew by 35% between 2012 – 2022 because natural gas consumption in the electric power sector more than doubled during this period, increasing by 2.3 billion ft3/d. In the Northeastern US, natural gas demand grew by 36% between 2012 – 2022, also driven by increased consumption in the electric power sector.
Natural gas consumption in the electric power sector has increased almost every year in the last five years, as summers have become warmer and the demand for air-conditioning has increased. In 2022, the summer months were the third warmest on record in the US, resulting in higher natural gas-fired electric power generation in the US Lower 48 states.
Excluding Louisiana and Texas, the rest of the South consumes the most natural gas of any region in the US and have the highest natural gas consumption in the industrial and electric power sectors. The Northeast and West of the country consume the least natural gas in the US, at about 12.2 billion ft3/d each in 2022. When adding in pipeline exports from the Western US to Mexico, the Western states account for a larger share of total US demand than the Northeastern states.