SUMMER TEMPS REMAIN HIGH INTO MID-SEPTEMBER
Weather remains in the 80s – 90s in the South and Southwest. These temperatures are a break from the triple-digit weather they have seen much of the summer. In addition, with milder temperatures in the Great Lakes and Northeast, national demand has declined, helping our storage numbers.
VOLATILITY CONTINUED AS THE MARKET FALLS 80 CENTS LAST WEEK
STRONG PRODUCTION NUMBERS BRING THE NATURAL GAS MARKET DOWN
- With maintenance issues over, production remained near record highs, providing a solid injection number and sending the market downward on Friday.
- The shutdown of the Nordstream 1 pipeline by Russia does not have the effect that was projected as exports remain at maximum, and Freeports reopening is delayed until November.
- Storage expectations are beginning to loosen up as the weather starts to cool. The South and Southwest will still see the 80s and 90s, but the Great Lakes and Northeast are seeing temps in the 70s, creating less demand.
RUSSIAN PIPELINES TO EUROPE
Gazprom shut down the Nordstream 1 pipeline on August 30th for maintenance issues and has now refused to reopen the pipeline, citing pipeline leaks.
Moscow is also saying that the pipeline will not resume in full until western sanctions on natural gas are lifted. With the US already at total capacity minus Freeport, this did not affect domestic natural gas prices much, though EU prices went much higher.
NATURAL GAS STORAGE REPORT
- Pricing has begun to ease thanks to more significant production numbers (97 Bcf/d last week) and slightly lower demand. As a result, ongoing US maintenance issues and ever-increasing demand have diminished, and worries about winter storage have lessened.
- Rig counts for oil and gas continue to rise. Last year, we had a total of 497 rigs. In 2022, we will have 760 rigs, including 162 dry gas wells. That is a 59% increase over last year and has helped to reach record high production.