UK reform leader Nigel Farage said in an interview on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday that “most of our gas now comes from Montana in the (US) Midwest.”
This is not the first time Farage has made a similar claim. In early April he said, “Most of the gas we currently import comes from Montana.”
Assessment
The United States is only the third largest source of gas supplies to the United Kingdom and the second largest foreign supplier. It is the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, the type that is transported by ship, rather than by pipeline.
It is unclear why Farage specifically mentioned Montana. Montana is not a major gas producing state.
The facts
Provisional data for 2025 shows that the UK's own gas production was 332,444 gigawatt hours (GWh). The country imported 463,692 GWh of gas. Of these, 320,249 GWh came from Norway and 104,360 GWh from the United States.
All the gas imported from the United States was liquefied natural gas (LNG), the kind that is cooled and transported by ship rather than by pipeline. The United States was the largest supplier of LNG to the United Kingdom.
But it's unclear how much – if any – of the UK's gas comes specifically from Montana.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that in 2024, the US produced a total of 37.7 trillion cubic feet of dry gas. Of this amount, Montana accounted for about 40 billion cubic feet, or 0.1% of total U.S. production.
The EIA data also shows that Montana's gas production was less than its gas consumption.
However, this does not mean that the state does not export its gas to other states or countries.
A 2023 report from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality said that while “Montana currently consumes more natural gas than it produces,” a “significant portion” of the state's production is exported.
Data from the US Census Bureau shows that the United States exported $2.8 billion worth of natural gas to the United Kingdom in 2025. This came from four states: Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland and Texas.
The data shows the state from which the gas was exported, not where it was initially produced. Although they are major exporters of LNG, Maryland and Georgia produce little or no natural gas.
Data from the US Census Bureau also shows that Montana exported $525,083 worth of natural gas in 2025, all of which went to Canada.
A 2021 report from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Department for International Trade said the UK was the fifth largest export market for Montana in 2019, selling goods worth US$39 million to the UK.
It listed Montana's top goods exports to the United Kingdom in 2019 as electrical equipment, basic chemicals, measuring and navigation instruments, aerospace products and parts, and miscellaneous general-purpose machinery.
Gas is not mentioned in that report.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not define Montana as part of the Midwest.
Golf course
Interview on YouTube
Facebook Video (Archived Video Download)
Gov.uk – Natural gas supply and consumption (archived page and spreadsheet)
Gov.uk – Natural gas imports (archived page and spreadsheet)
EIA – Gross natural gas production and withdrawals (archived)
EIA – Natural Gas Summary, Montana (archived)
Montana Department of Environmental Quality: Understanding Energy in Montana (archived)
US Census Bureau – Foreign Trade (archived page and spreadsheet download)
EIA – Natural Gas Summary, Georgia (archived)
Gov.uk – Trade and investment highlights between the UK and Montana (archived)
US Census Bureau: 12 states make up the Midwest region of the country (archived)
