Natural gas prices fell by -2.55% to settle at 153.1, mostly as a result of excess supply brought on by a mild winter and record output levels. In the week that concluded on February 23, 2024, U.S. utilities removed 96 billion cubic feet of natural gas from storage, surpassing the 88 billion cubic feet that was anticipated by the market.
Stockpiles are still high at 2.374 trillion cubic feet (tcf), up 248 billion cubic feet from the previous year and 498 billion from the five-year average, notwithstanding this reduction. The surplus is anticipated to be exacerbated by the shutdown of a liquefaction unit at Freeport LNG’s export facility in Texas, which will keep more gas in the nation.
In reaction to the excess supply, producers have decreased their output; for example, Chesapeake Energy has scaled back by 30%. Drilling and production activities have also been reduced by other industry participants, such as EQT, Comstock Resources, and Antero Resources.
