EIA says natural gas output in Lower 48 reached record high in January

The Lower 48 states produced a record high 72.85 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in January, "partly due to continued drilling activity in the Marcellus shale and Colorado," according to the Energy Information Administration. The figure is about 6.07 billion cubic feet per day higher than rates in the same period in 2011, the EIA said on March 29.