US Natural Gas Storage Sees Record-Breaking Injection Amid Production Surge

According to Natural Gas Intelligence's analysis of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, last week saw a significant injection of 30 Bcf into storage facilities. This increase is not only higher than the previous week but also exceeds both the 13 Bcf build from the same period in 2025 and the average 23 Bcf increase seen over the past five years.

Notably, this rise in injections has narrowed the year-over-year deficit to just 15 Bcf. However, it's worth mentioning that total US supply is now above the previous five-year average by approximately 192 Bcf. Despite this surge in storage levels, natural gas prices are still experiencing downward pressure due to increased domestic production and a slight uptick in deliveries to Lower 48 power generators.

Domestic dry gas production rose by 1.5 Bcf/d week/week to reach 111.8 Bcf/d, while net imports from Canada increased by 0.4 Bcf/d to stand at 5.5 Bcf/d. Deliveries to Lower 48 LNG liquefaction facilities also saw a notable increase of 0.3 Bcf/d, reaching 17.9 Bcf/d.

As for rig counts and frac spreads, there appears to be a divergence in views on US natural gas prices for the remainder of 2026. The Baker Hughes US rig count has climbed by eight since July 2 to stand at 588 rigs, while the Primary Vision Frac Spread count has decreased by six over the same period due to weaker spot market prices.