Gas storage in the Western Canadian province of Alberta, the region in Canada with the greatest amount of storage capacity, reached 387 Bcf as of May 13 (blue circle and text in chart below). Based on data from RBN’s Canadian NatGas Billboard, this is just 11 Bcf less than the record high level for the same date last year and 100 Bcf greater than the five-year average. RBN currently estimates that Alberta will exit the injection season at the end of October with 480 Bcf in storage (red circle and text), 44 Bcf less than one year ago, 39 Bcf greater than the five-year average and well below estimated storage capacity of 540 Bcf (black dashed line).
Featured Articles
- Blog
All Summer Long - Less Gas Available For Canadian Gas Storage Injection This Summer
Every gas storage injection season gives us a chance to size up how supply and demand components might influence how much gas can be stuffed away in underground reservoirs prior to the next heating season. For the Canadian storage injection season that is just getting underway, a number of factors have shifted that balance, resulting in a slowing rate of gas storage builds this year. A slower build, and subsequently lower storage levels by the end of the injection season than last year, seems likely to provide solid support for Canadian gas prices. Today, we review the latest developments and outlook for gas fundamentals in Canada.
- Blog
Don't Be Afraid - Low Alberta Gas Storage Is Not Spooking the AECO Winter Market, Yet
Alberta natural gas storage, one of the largest regional storage hubs in North America, is experiencing one of its slowest cumulative storage injection rates in years and could be headed to a 13-year low for storage levels by the end of the current injection season. That may seem ominous for the chilly Alberta and Canadian winter heating season, not to mention gas exports to the U.S. So far, though, winter gas forward prices for the Western Canadian gas price benchmark of AECO have registered a relatively modest market response, staying in line with last winter’s average spot price. Today, we take a closer look at the market’s apparent lack of concern over low Alberta gas storage.
- Blog
Feelin' Good Again - For Canadian Producers, the Most Promising Natural Gas Price Outlook in Years
As the new heating season in North America gets under way, the natural gas sector in Canada, the U.S., and even globally, is experiencing a surge in gas prices to levels unseen in many years. In Canada and the U.S., you would have to go way back to 2008-09 to find the most recent instance of $5/MMBtu-plus gas heading into a heating season. As for the rest of the world, it has never experienced prices at the levels reported in the past few months — north of $30/MMBtu in some places. The big question, as always, is: where do we go from here? In today’s RBN blog, we review our 2021 pricing outlook for Canadian gas and discuss our forecast for 2022.
