U.S. proved reserves of natural gas jumped 32% year/year in 2021 to set a new record as demand bounced back following the Covid-19 pandemic and prices increased, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday in an annual update of the figures.  

Proved Reservess

Proved gas reserves, or estimates defined as economically recoverable, reached 625.4 Tcf in 2021, up from 473.3 Tcf in 2020.

EIA noted that proved reserves are heavily influenced by prices, which increased for both crude oil and natural gas in 2021. Energy demand rebounded at the time from 2020 lows during the Covid-19 outbreak. 

EIA also reported that proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate increased in 2020, “but not quite to pre-pandemic levels.” Crude oil reserves increased 15% year/year to 41.2 billion...