Production of associated natural gas – fuel produced in concert with oil – surged in the prolific Permian Basin over the past five years, supporting strong total supplies and, for much of this year, helping to keep U.S. prices in check.

Associated gas produced from the top three oil plays in the Permian region – Wolfcamp, Spraberry and Bone Spring – has nearly tripled since 2018, from an annual average of 4.7 Bcf/d to 13.7 Bcf/d in the first seven months of 2023, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) researchers. They said such gas output swelled because of both rising crude production amid steady global demand and an increasing gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) among wells in the three leading plays. The GOR measures the volume of natural gas per barrel of oil that a...