EIA: Inventories at eight-year high

U.S. inventories are starting winter 2024–25 with the most natural gas since 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA reports that working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states ended the natural gas injection season with 3,922 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Inventories are currently 6% above the five-year (2019–23) average, despite less-than-average injections into storage throughout the entire injection season, which runs April 1 through Oct. 31. Less natural gas than the five-year average was injected in nearly every week during the 2024 injection season, in part because starting inventories were relatively full.

Natural gas inventories in the Lower 48 states at the end of March 2024 (the end of withdrawal season) totaled 2,282 Bcf, 25% more than at the same time in 2023 and 40% more than the five-year average for March. This enabled storage operators to reach their end-of-season targets with smaller natural gas injections. Low natural gas prices in 2024 encouraged producers to curtail production, which also reduced natural gas available for injections.

Natural gas injections into storage for the weeks ending Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 (the last two weeks of injection season) exceeded their five-year averages, further boosting the volume of natural gas in storage. In our November Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast natural gas withdrawals during the 2024–25 heating season will total 1,957 Bcf and that inventories will be 6% above the five-year (2020–24) average at the end of March 2025.