Definitions, Sources and Explanatory Notes

Category:	Natural Gas Production
Topic:	Wellhead Value & Marketed Production

Definitions

Key Terms	Definition
Marketed Production	Gross withdrawals less gas used for repressuring, quantities vented and flared, and nonhydrocarbon gases removed in treating or processing operations. Includes all quantities of gas used in field and processing plant operations.
Production	The volume of natural gas withdrawn from reservoirs less (1) the volume returned to such reservoirs in cycling, repressuring of oil reservoirs, and conservation operations; less (2) shrinkage resulting from the removal of lease condensate; and less (3) nonhydrocarbon gases where they occur in sufficient quantity to render the gas unmarketable. Volumes of gas withdrawn from gas storage reservoirs and native gas, which has been transferred to the storage category, are not considered production. Flared and vented gas is also considered production. (This differs from "Marketed Production" which excludes flared and vented gas.)
Wellhead Price	Price of natural gas calculated by dividing the total reported value at the wellhead by the total quantity produced as reported by the appropriate agencies of individual producing States and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The price includes all costs prior to shipment from the lease, including gathering and compression costs, in addition to State production, severance, and similar charges. The Wellhead Price estimate has been discontinued as of January 2013.

For definitions of related energy terms, refer to the EIA Energy Glossary.

Sources

1967-1975: Figures based on reports received from State agencies and Bureau of Mines estimates. 1976-1979: State Conservation agencies. 1979: State conservation agencies and the United State Geological Survey (USGS). 1980-1981: Form EIA-627, "Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Report," and the USGS. 1982-1995: Form EIA-627, "Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Report," and Form EIA-176, "Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition" 1996-present: Form EIA-895, "Monthly and Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Production Report" , Form EIA-176, "Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition" , EIA estimates, and the U.S. Mineral Management Service. Background on "Natural Gas Annual" data Natural Gas Survey Forms and Instructions

Explanatory Notes

Average Wellhead Value Average Wellhead Value, Annual Data: Form EIA-895A, "Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Report," requests state agencies to report the quantity and value of marketed production. When complete data are unavailable, the form instructs the state agency to report the available value and the quantity of marketed production associated with this value. A number of states reported volumes of production and associated values for other than marketed production. In addition, information for several states which were unable to provide data was obtained from Form EIA-176. It should be noted that Form EIA-176 reports a fraction of state production. The imputed value of marketed production in each state is calculated by dividing the state's reported value by its associated production. This unit price is then applied to the quantity of the state's marketed production to derive the imputed value of marketed production. Average Wellhead Value, Preliminary Monthly Data: Preliminary values for the monthly U.S. natural gas wellhead price are estimated from the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) futures closing price for near-month delivery at the Henry Hub, and prevailing cash market prices (spot prices) at 5 major trading hubs: Henry Hub, LA; Carthage, TX; Katy, TX; Waha, TX; and Blanco, NM. The NYMEX price is reported in the trade publication, Gas Daily (published by Financial Times Energy). The spot prices are published in another trade publication, Natural Gas Week (Energy Intelligence Group), and they reflect the spot delivered-to-pipeline, volume-weighted average prices for natural gas bought and sold at the specified trading hubs. Prices include processing, gathering, and transportation fees to the hubs. The estimated wellhead prices are derived with a statistical procedure based on analysis of monthly time series data for the period 1995 through the present. A statistical procedure was adopted beginning with publication of the February 1999 issue of the Natural Gas Monthly. The preliminary estimates are replaced when annual survey data become available, usually about 10 months after the end of the report year. Average Wellhead Value, Final Monthly Data: The Form EIA-895A requests state agencies to report monthly values of marketed production. Preliminary monthly gas price data are replaced by these final monthly data. Because of data quality concerns, both monthly and annual wellhead prices were discontinued for January 2013 forward. Average wellhead price times marketed production does not equal imputed value of marketed production due to independent rounding. Marketed Production Marketed production is the sum of gross withdrawals less gas used for repressuring, quantities vented and flared, and nonhydrocarbon gases removed. From 2017 forward, state monthly marketed production is estimated from gross withdrawals using historical relationships between the two.