Natural Gas Storage Report - June 5
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:37 am
Working gas in storage was 1,499 Bcf as of Friday, May 30, 2014, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 119 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 737 Bcf less than last year at this time and 896 Bcf below the 5-year average of 2,395 Bcf.
So, we reached the end of May and storage is still almost 900 bcf below the 5-year average. A couple months ago, I thought we had a shot at getting to 800 bcf.
My guess is that we start next winter with 3,300 to 3,500 bcf in storage at the beginning of next winter. The upper end will only happen if we have a mild summer with no hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Even at 3,500 bcf we will be 350 bcf below the 5-year average AND we now consume a lot more gas per day than we did five years ago. Lots of gas will be used for power generation July-August.
If storage is around 3,300 bcf to begin winter, the price of gas will spike over $6.00/mcf with the first cold wave.
So, we reached the end of May and storage is still almost 900 bcf below the 5-year average. A couple months ago, I thought we had a shot at getting to 800 bcf.
My guess is that we start next winter with 3,300 to 3,500 bcf in storage at the beginning of next winter. The upper end will only happen if we have a mild summer with no hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Even at 3,500 bcf we will be 350 bcf below the 5-year average AND we now consume a lot more gas per day than we did five years ago. Lots of gas will be used for power generation July-August.
If storage is around 3,300 bcf to begin winter, the price of gas will spike over $6.00/mcf with the first cold wave.