Natural gas drilling in the United States has been on a steady decline for the past two years.
Between December 2022 and December 2024, the number of active natural gas rigs dropped by 32%—a loss of 50 rig.
The hardest-hit regions were Haynesville and Appalachia, where rig counts fell sharply as gas prices hit record lows in 2024.
Why are drilling rigs declining?
The biggest reason behind this drop is falling natural gas prices. After peaking at $6.95 per MMBtu in 2022, prices plummeted 62% in 2023 and another 16% in 2024, reaching just $0.43 per MMBtu—the lowest inflation-adjusted level ever recorded, according to EIA.
As March 10, the price was around $4.50 per MMBtu. With such low returns, many producers have slowed down drilling activity.
Haynesville: high costs, low profits
Located across Texas and Louisiana, Haynesville has some of the deepest wells in the U.S., ranging from 10,500 to 13,500 feet.
These deep wells come with higher drilling costs, making operations less profitable when gas prices are low.
As a result, Haynesville’s rig count has dropped 55% since 2022, leading to a 7% decline in gas production.
Appalachia: a slower but noticeable decline
The Marcellus and Utica fields in the Appalachian region have also been affected.
Rig counts there have declined 37% since 2022, limiting production growth to just 4%.
This slower drop is due to lower drilling costs compared to Haynesville, allowing some operations to continue despite the weak prices.
What’s next?
Producers are adjusting strategies to cope with the low prices, including slowing down drilling and building up inventories of uncompleted wells.
However, if demand and prices rebound, these wells could be quickly completed to ramp up production.
For now, the U.S. natural gas industry remains at a crossroads—waiting for the right economic conditions to bring back drilling activity.
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