API: natural gas well completions down 70 pct in Q1

Estimated natural gas well completions decreased 70 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to year-ago levels, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday.

According to API, which represents the interests of the oil and natural gas industry in the U.S., exploratory oil completions fell 90 percent compared to 2015 first quarter estimates.

Total feet drilled decreased 73 percent, with the largest decrease seen in the footage of exploratory wells, API said.

“America’s shale energy revolution has helped the U.S. lower our greenhouse gas emissions while making energy cheaper for American consumers,” said Hazem Arafa, director of API’s statistics department.

“To continue this progress, we must revisit current energy policy, speed up the LNG export approval process and avoid unnecessary regulations to help U.S. producers to compete effectively in the global market under the low-price environment,” Arafa said.

According to API, the oil and gas industry supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy.