Chart of the week: US natural-gas production heading for a record high

US natural-gas production will hit a record in 2018, just as oil will, says Liam Denning on Bloomberg Gadfly. Output should exceed 80 billion cubic feet per day, marking a 60% increase since 2005. The biggest annual jump in US production on record will take place this year, with another 7 billion cubic feet anticipated (equivalent to the annual output of Turkmenistan, a key gas exporter). Pipelines capable of transporting seven billion cubic feet from the "prolific" Appalachian region come into operation in 2018. Thanks to shale, the US a gas importer in the 2000s is now an exporter.

Viewpoint

"[Does] anyone seriously think that the railways were better run in the halcyon days of state ownership?They were starved of investment, having to plead for cash from the same pot that funds schools, hospitals, the armed forces and much else. In the five years that preceded privatisation there was virtually no investment in new trains. Since privatisation, more than £10bn has been spent on new rolling stock The railways are also a good deal safer today for passengers and workers alike, and they are also a great deal more popular now than before. Passenger journeys have doubled to 1.6 billion per year in the 18 years since privatisation despite the ever-rising fares."

Michael Harrison, Evening Standard