Storage Ceiling

The U.S. natural gas market is carrying about an 850-Bcf surplus in storage versus last year and the 5-year average.  But it looks like the surplus will finally start to contract in earnest over the next few weeks. So the big question is -- will it be fast enough to prevent crippling supply congestion by this fall? With Canadian storage inventories also high and U.S. gas production still averaging slightly higher than last year, it seems record demand will be needed to bring storage into balance. Today we look at the prospects for demand this summer to trump last year’s record demand.

With the first month of storage injection season now behind us, the weekly storage report from Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows U.S. natural gas stocks at about 850 Bcf higher than last year. While the surplus vs. 2015 has contracted from over 1,000 Bcf at the start of injection season April 1, it has a long way to go before the gas market is out of the woods, and prices are reflecting that. The CME/NYMEX Henry Hub contract for June delivery settled Wednesday at $2.141/MMBtu, down 68 (24%) from last year, and the balance-of-summer strip is priced at an average $2.408/MMBtu as of yesterday’s settles, 48 cents (17%) lower than a year ago. Given the sheer size of the overhang at this point, the pace of the surplus contraction will be at least as important to price direction as the fact that it is contracting.  Today we look at the various supply and demand factors that could either help or hinder the market to whittle down the storage surplus this summer.

The U.S. natural gas market ended the winter withdrawal season with inventories carrying a record high overhang and an enormous surplus versus previous years. Since then, the historic surplus has begun to contract, and the CME/NYMEX Henry Hub futures contract has responded, rallying 11.2 cents since April 1st to settle at $2.068/MMBtu Thursday. Now, well into the third week of injection season, the big questions are whether the recent bullishness can be sustained and what it will take to relieve the surplus in storage. In today’s blog, we assess how the existing surplus will impact summer storage activity and prices.

U.S natural gas storage inventories ended the winter heating season at a record high for this time of year of 2,480 Bcf as of April 1, 2016. Yesterday (Thursday April 14) the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. natural gas storage fell a notch as of April 8 to 2,477 Bcf or 956 Bcf (63%) higher than the corresponding week last year. CME/NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures prices for May delivery closed at $1.970/MMBtu yesterday, 56 cents lower than last year at this time. Moreover the current 12-month strip is averaging $2.48, 32 cents lower than last year at this time. In today’s blog, we look at how inventories got here and implications for the summer market.

The U.S. natural gas market is facing an ultimatum. Natural gas storage inventories are carrying such a daunting surplus, that prices already at 21-year lows for December, seem primed to go even lower should supply or demand fail to cooperate and balance the market. A warm winter so far and the very real prospect of hitting a storage celling before next winter mean that something has to give.  Today we wrap up our series on the gas supply/demand balance with a look forward to how 2016 could pan out.