U.S. natural gas storage is expected to end the November-March withdrawal season at 1.744 trillion cubic feet (tcf) on March 31, 2023, the most since 2021, according to analysts consensus forecasts.
That compares with 1.401 tcf at the end of the winter withdrawal season in 2022 and a five-year (2018-2022) average of 1.561 tcf. There was 1.801 tcf of gas in storage at the end of March 2021.
Looking ahead to the end of the April-October injection season, analysts project storage will rise to 3.931 tcf on Oct. 31, 2023, the most since hitting a record high of 4.013 in 2016.
That compares with an estimated 3.569 tcf at the end of the summer injection season in 2022 and a five-year (2018-2022) average of 3.628 tcf.
The 387 active storage fields in the Lower 48 states had a design capacity of 4.678 tcf in November 2021, according to federal data.