By Robert Bradley Jr.
“Politicians seem to be struggling to deliver on voters’ affordability concerns about housing, health care and more, but natural gas is doing just fine…. No single politician can take credit for this. Maybe that’s why it has worked.”
The editorial board of the Washington Post last month gave a shout out to natural gas. Kudos to the Post for magnifying the obvious.
“Natural gas remains affordable. Here’s how” (September 22, 2026), subtitled “It wasn’t a genius plan by the government,” began:
As the Iran conflict continues to roil energy markets, sending crude oil and gasoline prices higher, there’s one bright spot for American customers: natural gas. For that, they can thank American innovation and free markets.
Continuing:
The reason for the lower prices is not less demand; in fact, demand is expected to continue its years-long rise. It’s not price controls; those were fully repealed in 1993. Enormous supply is what’s keeping costs down. On top of an annual production record expected this year, there is also more natural gas surplus in storage for the coming winter than in any year since 2016. The surplus is expected to last into March.
Turning to the official statistics and analyses from the U.S. Energy Information Administration:
From the late 1970s until around 2007, the United States produced about 20 trillion cubic feet of marketed natural gas each year. Last year, it produced more than double that: 43 trillion cubic feet. What broke this decades-long stagnation? Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, made in America.
The U.S., in fact, the article states, “has been the world’s largest natural gas producer since 2009.” Some background is then provided.
The ideas for these technologies are not new. The father of modern horizontal drilling, Martin Cherrington, figured out how to drill 500 feet under a river in California in 1971. An early precursor to fracking was an explosive device patented by Edward Roberts, a Civil War veteran, in 1865. Standard Oil was experimenting with the modern method of injecting a pressurized mixture of liquid and sand into the ground in the 1940s.
The wellhead gas revolution had to overcome Big Green.
These innovations faced strident political backlash. Environmentalists raised sensationalized concerns and urged politicians to ban the practice. They succeeded in scaring politicians in Britain, where there is still almost no fracking, and in some states, such as New York, which bans the practice. Germany touted its transition to renewable energy, to widespread acclaim, while relying on Russian natural gas to actually power its economy.
The editors added: “Fortunately for everyone, President Barack Obama was not convinced by the scaremongering, and fracking was allowed to thrive. The shale gas revolution has now spanned five presidential terms and shows little sign of slowing.”
What is good for the U.S. is good for the world.
While natural gas abundance is an American story, it is not an autarkic one. The U.S. has simultaneously become a much more active participant in global energy markets. The U.S. exported 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas last year. As recently as 2015, exports were below 2 trillion cubic feet. Having plenty of natural gas to use at home and sell to the rest of the world doesn’t mean imports disappear; the U.S. still imported 3 trillion cubic feet last year.
It’s a win-win:
America’s newly established dominance in the global natural gas market is good for U.S. gas businesses, of course, but it’s also great for the pocketbooks of U.S. consumers. While other countries are paying much more for natural gas due to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Americans have been blissfully unaware. Already accustomed to paying less than Europeans or Asians, the American price for natural gas has stayed flat since the war in Iran began in February.
In conclusion:
Politicians seem to be struggling to deliver on voters’ affordability concerns about housing, health care and more, but natural gas is doing just fine. Rather than trying to manage demand, squeeze trade or pace innovation, the U.S. has achieved natural gas affordability through abundant supply driven by technological progress. No single politician can take credit for this. Maybe that’s why it has worked.
It could not be explained better. Some real history here too. This “head exploding” (remembering the late Joe Romm) editorial is one to be remembered.
