Storage Jumps Ahead of Seasonal Norms Amid US Production Recovery
Natural gas storage injections continue to outpace seasonal norms as production recovers in the US. The latest EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report projects an injection of 30 Bcf for the week ended July 31, up 2 Bcf from last week and higher than both the 13 Bcf increase from a year ago and the average 23 Bcf build from the previous five years.
According to NGI's Entropic Analytics, deliveries to Lower 48 power generators rose by 1.4 Bcf/d to 51.1 Bcf/d last week, but this gain was offset by an increase in domestic production, which ticked up 1.5 Bcf/d week/week to 111.8 Bcf/d.
Net pipeline imports into the US added 0.3 Bcf/d of supply, while industrial demand remained flat at 21.4 Bcf/d week/week. Residential/commercial consumption, however, ticked up 0.2 Bcf/d to 8.8 Bcf/d, but may tail off in the coming weeks due to seasonal trends.
The Baker Hughes US rig count climbed by just one last week, but stands at 588 rigs, up eight since July 2. In contrast, the Primary Vision Frac Spread count sits at 194 spreads, down six over the same period amid weaker spot market prices.