The amount of U.S. working natural gas in storage in the lower 48 states will reach a record high for the present heating season, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.
The EIA said the lower 48 states' working natural gas in storage for the 2019-2020 winter heating season running from Nov. 1 to March 31 is expected to total some 54.8 billion cubic meters, or 12 percent more than the previous five-year average, due to mild winter temperatures and continuing strong production.
The agency also said a year-on-year growth of dry natural gas production and natural gas exports, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), throughout 2019 also affected the storage levels. On Oct.11, the U.S. natural gas storage total surpassed the previous five-year average for the first time since mid-2017.
The lower 48 states refer to the area of the U.S. contiguous continental states and the District of Columbia, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
The EIA also predicted that the gas net injections during the refill season running from April 1 to Oct. 31 would bring the area's total working gas in storage to some 114 billion cubic meters, which, if realized, would be the largest monthly inventory level on record.
Editor:Cherie
