US Natural Gas Storage Capacity Rises as Winter Demand Looms

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that underground natural gas storage capacity in the Lower 48 states has increased in 2025. According to the EIA, demonstrated peak capacity rose by 0.1%, or 6 billion cubic feet (bcf), and working gas design capacity increased by 0.6%, or 26 bcf.

One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply around 5 million US homes for a day. The EIA uses two metrics to assess storage capacity: demonstrated peak capacity, which represents the sum of the largest volume of working gas reported for each individual storage field during the most recent five-year period, and design capacity, or nameplate capacity, which is a theoretical limit on the total amount of gas that can be stored underground.

Currently, the country produces more natural gas than it uses on average, with 110.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of production versus 91.2 bcfd of demand expected in 2026. However, during cold winter months, homes and businesses use more gas for heating, resulting in a gap between production and demand, as seen in January 2027 when production is expected to be around 113.0 bcfd and demand reaches 120.7 bcfd.