Freeze-offs contribute to lower natural gas production, higher natural gas prices In the wake of record-low temperatures affecting most of the country, dry natural gas production in the United States fell by 21.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), declining from 90.7 Bcf/d on February 8 to about 69.7 Bcf/d on February 17, according to data from IHS Markit. The decline in natural gas production is primarily because of freeze-offs, which occur when water and other liquids found in produced raw natural gas freeze at the wellhead and/or potentially in natural gas gathering lines near production activities, resulting in flow blockage. A large portion of the decrease in natural gas production was from declines in Texas, which fell over 10 Bcf/d during the February 8–17 period. Unlike natural gas production infrastructure in northern areas of the country where below-freezing temperatures are more common and infrastructure is generally winterized, wellheads, gathering lines, and even processing facilities in Texas are more susceptible to freeze-offs during periods of extremely cold weather.