Natural gas production far exceeded consumption in West Virginia in 2019
In West Virginia in 2019, 5.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of marketed natural gas was produced and 0.6 Bcf/d was consumed. No other state had a higher ratio of natural gas production to consumption in 2019. West Virginia’s natural gas production ranked 6th out of the 50 states in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Natural Gas Annual. West Virginia ranked third for proved natural gas reserves in 2019, behind only Texas and Pennsylvania.
In 2019, only 10% of the natural gas produced in West Virginia was consumed in the state. The industrial sector accounted for 37% of the natural gas that was delivered to consumers in West Virginia, followed by the residential and commercial sectors, which each accounted for 24%.
The electric power sector, the largest natural gas-consuming sector nationwide, accounted for 15% of the natural gas deliveries in West Virginia in 2019. The natural gas that is not consumed in state moves through an extensive pipeline network to other states, often those in the Northeast, or is stored underground. About 240 Bcf of natural gas working storage capacity is located in West Virginia, which is 5% of the Lower 48 states’ total natural gas working storage capacity.
Electricity generation from natural gas has displaced coal-fired generation in many parts of the nation, but the shift has been less noticeable in West Virginia. Coal-fired power plants accounted for 91% of the electricity generated in West Virginia during 2019, a larger share than in any in other state, although it was coal-fired generation's lowest share in more than 20 years. Natural gas and wind each accounted for about 4% of West Virginia’s power sector electricity generation in 2019.
Additional state-level analysis for all types of energy is available in EIA’s State Energy Portal.
Principal contributor: Brett Marohl