August natural gas futures were trading lower through midday Thursday after the latest weekly storage injection landed above historical levels.
Here’s the latest:
- August Nymex natural gas futures down 6.5 cents to $2.264/MMBtu as of 2:22 p.m. ET
- Reported 65 Bcf weekly Lower 48 storage injection at top end of expectations
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) reported build for the week ending July 5 came in higher than the five-year average of 57 Bcf. It was also at the high end of Reuters poll responses ranging from 49 Bcf to 65 Bcf.
Total Lower 48 working gas in underground storage exited the period at 3,199 Bcf. That’s 504 Bcf, or 19%, above the five-year average, according to EIA.
- Freeport LNG Development LP terminal remains shuttered for a fifth day with power not yet restored since former Hurricane Beryl’s landfall Monday
CenterPoint Energy Inc. updated the status of the power grid around the Freeport liquefied natural gas terminal to “assessment complete” as of 8 a.m. ET, according to the company’s grid status map. That’s changed from “assessment in progress” on Wednesday. The map is updated periodically and may be delayed, CenterPoint said.
“It is unclear when CenterPoint intends to restore power to that section of the grid on the coast, likely due to the firm focusing many of its efforts on residential power efforts in Southeast Texas as more than a million are still without power,” Criterion Research Inc.’s James Bevan, vice president of Research, said on online energy platform Enelyst.
CenterPoint said Thursday Beryl caused significant structural damage in its service area “including along the coast where parts of the electric system will need to be rebuilt.”
Freeport LNG’s nominations of around 149 MMcf/d early on Wednesday were revised back to near zero in later cycles, according to Wood Mackenzie flow data.
The Port of Freeport opened its channel to some vessels Wednesday. However, five LNG tankers anchored nearby had not shown much movement, according to Kpler ship tracking data.
- Physical prices mostly lower for Friday deliveries, according to NGI’s MidDay Price Alert
- Henry Hub spot prices down 14.0 cents to $2.230; Waha down 65.0 cents to 87.0 cents
Triple-digit heat was expected on Friday across large swaths of California, the Southwest and the Rockies, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, Beryl’s remnants were expected to bring rain to the Mid-Atlantic through Friday to keep the region’s highs mostly to the 80s, the forecaster said.
NatGasWeather was calling for the Lower 48 temperatures to trend hotter than normal Friday to Tuesday. By midweek, they could dip closer to normal levels as a weather system tracked across the Northeast.
By the following weekend, national temperatures were expected to trend above normal levels “for a return to very strong national demand,” the forecaster said.
