Summary
U.S. Shale Gas
& Federal Lands
The United States has been the largest producer of natural gas since the advent of shale gas in the mid-2000s. Most of the rise in production has been on private lands, not federal. Thus, federal government revenue has not seen an equivalent rise. Shale gas production has mostly taken place on private lands, with the largest contribution coming from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Of the top five producers and revenue generators from federal lands, no state is a top-five producer of overall U.S. gas production.
Most shale formations are not on federal lands
Onshore federal lands
Current shale play
Prospective shale play
Includes onshore surface acres of federal land administered by federal land management agencies (Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service) in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This excludes Department of Defense, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other lands administered by other federal agencies.
62%
Shale gas production is 62% of overall U.S. gross production
Plays that overlap are at different geologic depths
US Total
Top 5 States
% Total US
Top 5
States
Rest of US
Total Gross Natural Gas Production*2
43,802 bcf
68%
TX 11,600
PA 7,511
LA 4,070
AK 3,587
WV 2,921
Rest of US 14,113
Natural Gas
Production on
Federal Lands1
3,467 bcf
95%
bcf
NM 1,528
WY 1,014
CO 509
UT 141
ND 117
US 158
Production on Federal Lands/Total Gross Production
8%3
11%
WY 78%
NM 56%
UT 54%
CO 28%
US 1%
U.S. Federal Natural Gas
Revenue1
$2.1 billion
94%
$ in millions
NM $1,041
WY $566
CO $199
UT $97
ND $59
US $119
Western states account for most natural gas production on federal lands and revenues. Data is from 2022, the latest year of available data for all categories.
bcf - billion cubic feet
*Gross production - Full well-stream volume, including all natural gas plant liquids and all nonhydrocarbon gases, but excluding lease condensate. Also includes amounts delivered as royalty payments or consumed in field operations.
Notes: 1. Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), Query Natural Resources Revenue Data. 2. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals (eia.gov). 3. Production of natural gas on federal land accounts for 8% of total U.S. gross gas production. Map geography created by CRS using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and ESRI.
Information as of March 15, 2024. Prepared by Michael Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy; Lexie Ryan, Analyst in Energy Policy; Mari Lee, Visual Information Specialist; and Molly Cox, Geospatial Information Systems Analyst.