The Growing Gas Giant: Texas Natural Gas, 2000-2025
Over the last 25 years, Texas natural gas production has more than doubled. And it continues to grow, establishing Texas as the stronghold for U.S. and international energy security.
If Texas were an independent country, it would be the third-largest natural gas producer on earth, behind the rest of the United States and Russia. But that ascendency didn’t happen overnight. Steady, continuous production growth has propelled Texas to the center stage of international energy security.
This series explores 25 years of U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data — here examining natural gas, the fuel at the core of Texas’ evolution into an “all of the above and below” energy powerhouse.
Texas commands largest share of U.S. natural gas production
In 2000, Texas produced 23.7% of U.S. natural gas. By 2025, as depicted in Share of Total U.S. Natural Gas Production, 2025, Texas’ gas plays accounted for 28.5% of U.S. production — more than the next two contributors (Pennsylvania and New Mexico) combined. The Appalachian shale states (Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio) must join forces to approach Texas’ total, clocking in at 28% combined.
Source: EIA – Natural Gas Withdrawals and Production, State by State
Texas’ growth in natural gas production has eclipsed overall U.S. growth rate
Captured in Natural Gas Production: Texas vs. Top 10 U.S. Natural Gas-Producing States, Texas substantially increased natural gas production by 137.7% since 2000, from 5.7 MMcf in 2000 to 13.6 MMcf in 2025.
Total U.S. gas production also grew, lifted by the shale revolution, but at a lower rate of 97.5%. If you remove Texas from the equation, domestic growth increased by just 85%. Other states have tried to catch up, but only Pennsylvania comes close, rocketing from eighth to a distant second behind Texas.
Source: EIA – Natural Gas Withdrawals and Production, State by State
Texas commands largest share of U.S. growth over the past 25 years
Following the colossal growth trends of oil production and wind power generation, Texas sits isolated in the upper-right corner of Share of Gas Production Growth vs. Share of U.S. 2025 Production.
This chart studies two variables:
- How much a state’s increase in production contributed to national production growth during the first quarter of this century.
- How much that state contributed to total U.S. production in 2025.
Texas contributed 28.5% of U.S. natural gas production in 2025 while accounting for 33.5% of all U.S. natural gas production growth since 2000.
In other words, Texas plays an outsized role in U.S. gas production, responsible for a third of our entire nation’s production growth over the last 25 years. Pennsylvania is the only state that comes close on the growth axis (31.9%), but only contributed to 16.1% of total U.S. production in 2025.
Source: EIA – Natural Gas Withdrawals and Production, State by State
Gas production remains at record highs for Texas, the largest energy exporter in the U.S.
Texas gas production is a major economic driver for the state with plenty of opportunity to solidify the state’s role as a bigger player in the international energy space. In 2025, Texas was already the largest energy exporting state, accounting for 66.1% of U.S. energy exports.
Early 2026 data from EIA indicates that Texas gas production remains near record highs, with Texas on track to account for 29.6% of U.S. gas production as of April 2026, already up a full percentage point from last year.
As the conflict in the Middle East continues to squeeze LNG traffic, Texas’ gas production and export capacity will play a key strategic role toward international energy security. The EIA projects long-term growth of natural gas production through 2050, driven by international and domestic demand; Texas is poised to answer the call.