The U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report for August the United States imported 1.4 million cubic feet of natural gas during the first six months of the year. That’s down more than 20 percent compared to the same period in 2011. In terms of marketed production of natural gas, the EIA said the United States posted nearly 12.6 million cubic feet for the six months of the year, an 8.2 percent increase from the same period in 2011.

IHS said the steady increase in oil and natural gas production means economic gains are starting to trickle down to American families. Last year, energy companies added millions of barrels worth of production to their U.S. portfolios through hydraulic fracturing. IHS said the energy boom added more than 2.1 million direct and indirect jobs to the U.S. economy last year. That should reach the 3.3 million mark by the end of the decade. For actual monetary gains, increased wages and lower energy and manufacturing costs should add another $2,000 per year to American incomes by 2015, an increase of more than 60 percent from last year.