Is The U.S. Gas Boom Already Over?

Natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays is growing at a slower pace than before as low prices persist, but demand has yet to catch up to supply. S&P Global Platts reports that energy companies in the Appalachian Basin have started cutting back their new drilling, pressured by low gas prices on the one hand, and shareholder pressure for greater returns on the other. At the moment, spot prices at two gas hubs in the region—Columbia Gas Appalachia and Dominion South—are about $1 per mmBtu. That’s down from…