(Radio Iowa) — Most Iowans have already fired up their furnaces during the nippy fall days of late, and the experts say there’s an ample supply of natural gas to keep us warm through the winter. Dean Foreman, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, says natural gas and oil set record production levels in recent months, even though challenges in the industry are rising. “We’re putting tariffs on imports from China and that’s raising the costs to consumers here at home,” Foreman says. “At the same time, they’re putting tariffs on U.S. exports of things like natural gas.” It’s translating to a wealth of natural gas supplies and a dropping demand.

“U.S. energy security has never been higher in terms of what we have of the ability to not only step up for domestic energy at home but also what we can provide to the global economy,” Foreman says. “That’s a good story and we expect that to continue.” Foreman says there are still challenges ahead, including lower growth expectations, rising inflation, interest rates, trade barriers and financial market uncertainties. Still, he says domestic production of both oil and natural gas is on the rise. “All of the global oil market fuss is about annual growth of only 2% but natural gas markets are quietly expanded by 12% year to year,” Foreman says. “What we see is a natural gas market that’s very much in surplus right now.”

A federal report finds 67-percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15-percent use electricity, 14-percent use propane, and the rest use wood or fuel oil.