the natural gas storage report from the EIA for the week ending December 4th indicated that the quantity of natural gas held in underground storage in the US decreased by 91 billion cubic feet to 3,848 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our gas supplies 309 billion cubic feet, or 8.7% higher than the 3,539 billion cubic feet that were in storage on December 4th of last year, and 260 billion cubic feet, or 7.2% above the five-year average of 3,588 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have been in storage as of the 4th of December in recent years..the 91 billion cubic feet that were drawn out of US natural gas storage this week was higher than the average forecast from an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts who expected a 78 billion cubic foot withdrawal, and was also much higher than the average withdrawal of 61 billion cubic feet of natural gas that are typically pulled out of natural gas storage during the same week over the past 5 years, and the 57 billion cub
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A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on venting and flaring in two of America’s top producing oil and natural gas basins demonstrates the clear need for new and improved energy infrastructure.
The EIA report says that venting and flaring in the United States hit a record high average in 2019, primarily driven by activities in North Dakota’s Bakken Formation and the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. As EIA notes, flaring is the controlled burning of excess natural gas and venting is the direct release into the air.
So, why have venting and flaring levels increased? EIA provides the answer:
Another Week, Another Leg Lower for Natural Gas Forwards as Warmth Rules Forecasts
Weather dominated natural gas forward price action for a third consecutive week, sending prices through the winter lower despite record export demand and cuts to production, according to
NGI’s Forward Look. However, losses were less severe than the prior two weeks, and prices stabilized a bit for the summer 2021 strip (April-October) and beyond, with small gains seen at several U.S. market hubs.
After a chilly October, winter weather has failed to materialize in a meaningful way, with only brief periods here and there of truly cold weather. November was the fourth warmest on record, and December could land in the top 10 warmest months amid a sea of red across weather maps.