400,000 new gas wells needed by 2020, industry conference told

Energy companies will need to drill about 400,000 new natural-gas wells in the Rocky Mountain states during the next 15 years to meet projected demand, a Colorado energy executive told an industry conference Tuesday.

“We must not delude ourselves,” said Peter Dea, chief executive officer of Denver-based Western Gas Resources Inc., at the Rocky Mountain Natural Gas Strategy Conference and Investor Forum.

“Even with the most optimistic conservation scenarios, we will need 10 to 15 percent growth in wells through 2020,” Dea said.

The U.S. consumes an estimated 22 trillion cubic feet of gas a year, according to federal data.

Slumping production from existing wells means drillers have to replace about one-third of onshore production in 2005 just to keep domestic supply steady.

Denver Post