U.S. gas production setting records

HOUSTON, June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. natural gas production from the Lower 48 states in May beat a monthly high set in April by 0.6 percent, analysis shows.

Bentek Energy, the forecasting division of energy website Platts, said May production reached 67.7 billion cubic feet per day on average. That beat the previous monthly record set in April.

Production peaked May 26 at 68.2 billion cubic feet per day and May's average was 4.6 percent higher year-on-year.

"With power utilities clearly anxious about relying on coal as a fuel source now that the Environmental Protection Agency has released its latest carbon emissions reduction program, natural gas producers have stepped up and see a clear signal to deliver as much as the market can bear," Jack Weixel, Bentek Energy director of energy analysis, said in a statement Tuesday.

The EPA proposed Monday to cut emissions from existing power plants by 30 percent from a 2005 benchmark by 2030.

The Bentek data show production for the year should average 67.5 billion cubic feet per day because of growth from shale basins in the country.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, publishes May production data near the end of July.