The average number of active rigs per month that are drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. Lower 48 states has declined steadily over the past few years from a recent peak of 750 rigs in December 2022 to 517 rigs this October. The declining rig count reflects operators' responses to declining crude oil and natural gas prices and improvements in drilling efficiencies.

Working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states ended the natural gas refill season (April 1-October 31) with more than 3,900 billion cubic feet (Bcf), according to estimates based on data from our Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report released on November 6. U.S. inventories are starting winter 2025-26 at about the same level as last year, the most since 2016. As of October 31, inventories are 4% above the five-year (2020-24) average after above-average injections into storage throughout much of the injection season.

Driven by an increase in wholesale natural gas prices, retail U.S. natural gas prices for every sector have increased so far this year, although the increases are uneven across sectors. In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, we expect the 2025 annual average price of natural gas paid by electric power plants to increase by 37% and the price paid by industrial sector customers to increase by 21% compared with the 2024 averages. We forecast that natural gas prices for customers in the commercial and residential sectors will increase by less, at 4% each.

In the third quarter of 2025, solar projects representing about 20% of planned capacity reported a delay, a decrease from 25% in the same period in 2024, based on data compiled from multiple Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory reports.

The United States produced 104 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas, 75% more than the world's second-largest natural gas producer, Russia, in 2023, the most recent year for which we have comprehensive worldwide data on natural gas production.