Independent Fiscal Office Reports 2nd Quarter PA Natural Gas Production Declines Slightly Again; Price Of Natural Gas For Residential Customers Increased By 7.3% From Prior Year

On September 2, the Independent Fiscal Office reported second quarter 2026 natural gas production of 1,925 billion cubic feet in Pennsylvania, a slight decline for the second quarter in a row and lower than any quarter since the fourth quarter of 2024.

The IFO reported 89 new shale gas wells were spud [drilled] in the second quarter, the first annual decline for a quarter since the first quarter of 2025.

The average Pennsylvania hub price for natural gas was $2.11, a decrease of $0.27 (11.3%) from the prior year. 

This was a notable reduction from the first quarter, which was heavily impacted by January ($9.99), as prices surged in response to Winter Storm Fern

The IFO estimates that the average spot price will decline further in 2026 Q3 to $2.02, a 7.2% decrease from the prior year.

The IFO said spot prices will not reflect contemporaneous prices paid by residential consumers. 

US Energy Information Administration data show that the average price of natural gas sold to Pennsylvania residential customers increased by 7.3% in 2026 Q2 from the prior year. 

Click Here for the IFO report.

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP: An Estimated 336,000 Gallons Of Fracking Flowback Water Was Released During An Uncontrolled Shale Gas Well Incident At The INR OPR LLC Cooper Well Pad In Young Twp., Indiana County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 1,331: Big Dog Energy LLC Shale Gas Well Pad Lacks Secondary Containment To Contain Spills, Has No Emergency Response Plan In Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 2,447: American Natural Resources LLC Fails To Comply, Does Not Respond To Order To Plug 6 Conventional Wells It Abandoned In Allegheny County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 221: HR McClure Fails To Plug 3 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells It Abandoned  In Greene County; Failing To Submit Production, Waste, Well Integrity Reports For 5 Years  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: NextEra Energy Picks 700 Acre Site In Luzerne Twp.,  Fayette County For 3.75 GW Natural Gas Data Center Power Plant Complex  [Entire Township Over Known Mined Out Coal Mines Subject To Subsidence Risk (DEP)]

-- PennLive/Tribune News: Massive 7,200 Acre PPL Utilities Joint Venture Land Deal In Lackawanna County Paves Way For More Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants

-- Scranton Times: PPL Utilities Joint Venture Purchases 500 Acres In Luzerne County For 2 Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants; No Agreements Signed With Customers Yet [Not For The Public]  

--  Financial Times: The Missing Piece Of The US Oil And Gas Boom - Jobs; Production And Profits Are Rising Strongly, Employment Has Fallen

[Posted: September 2, 2026]  PA Environment Digest