US sees record high natural gas demand
By Trend
Estimated US natural gas demand on January 1, 2018 reached 150.7
billion cubic feet, surpassing the previous single-day record set
in 2014, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said based
on the report from PointLogic.
Much colder-than-normal temperatures across much of the United
States have led to increased demand for heating, much of which is
provided by natural gas, said the EIA.
“Although residential and commercial natural gas consumption did
not appear to surpass previous records, higher consumption in the
electric power and industrial sectors, greater exports of natural
gas to Mexico, and more demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG)
feedstock gas contributed to the recent record demand level,” said
the report.
Moreover, EIA said that this past week, increases in demand led to higher prices in natural gas and electricity markets.
“Day-ahead natural gas prices for delivery for January 1, 2018, neared $30 per million British thermal units at trading locations in the Mid-Atlantic region, New York, and Boston, according to Natural Gas Intelligence,” said the report.
Record demand levels are likely to lead to high withdrawals of natural gas from storage fields, EIA analysts believe.
EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report showed that in the Lower 48 states, natural gas storage levels as of December 29, were 3,126 billion cubic feet (Bcf), or about 6 percent lower than both the previous five-year average (2012–2016) and year-ago levels. In the East region, which covers the Atlantic Coast and some Midwestern states, inventory levels were 740 Bcf, equal to previous year levels and about 5 percent lower than the previous five-year average.
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