U.S. natural gas storage is on track to end the November-March winter withdrawal season at 2.081 trillion cubic feet (tcf) on March 31, the highest since 2016, according to analysts’ estimates.
That compares with 1.850 tcf of gas in storage at the end of the winter withdrawal season in 2023, a record 2.486 tcf at the end of March 2016 and a five-year (2019-2023) average of 1.653 tcf.
Looking ahead to the end of the April-October summer injection season, analysts project storage will reach a new record 4.102 tcf on Oct. 31.
That compares with around 3.809 tcf at the end of the summer injection season in 2023, the current record high of 4.013 tcf at the end of October 2016 and a five-year (2019-2023) average of 3.747 tcf.
The 387 active storage fields in the Lower 48 states had a design capacity of 4.678 tcf in November 2021, according to the latest federal data available.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino)