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Pacific region working gas catching up to 2018, average levels, EIA says

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Pacific region working gas catching up to 2018, average levels, EIA says

Working natural gas inventories in the Pacific region had reached 275 Bcf as of Sept. 6 due to a number of factors that drove down gas use, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.

The agency attributed the improved storage balances in part to milder temperatures in the Pacific region during the second and third quarters, paired with shifting gas needs. Specifically, hydropower availability was up in California by 23% in the California ISO area, gas-fired power generation gas demand was down 10% in the Pacific region during the refill season, and industrial demand for gas in the Pacific region was down 6.6% during that time, the EIA said.

As a result, working gas stocks in the region, which had been below average going into the refill season, largely caught up to past levels. Working gas stocks reached 26 Bcf higher than the year-ago level and were just 28 Bcf lower than the five-year average as of Sept. 6, the EIA reported. This compares to the start of the refill season, March 15, when stocks were 73 Bcf lower than a year ago and 104 Bcf lower than the five-year average, according to the Sept. 18 report.

Much of the refill catch-up happened early on, and in recent weeks, net injections have slowed with an increase in electric generation and pipeline maintenance work. Most recently, gas storage operators have seen net withdrawals in the last two report weeks that increased the deficit by 9 Bcf, the EIA said.

Net injections in 2019 exceeded the five-year average by 74% over the refill season through Sept. 6. The EIA predicted that if that pace continues for the rest of the season, working gas stocks will likely come in about 10 Bcf below the 327-Bcf end-of-season five-year average.

Nationwide, the EIA reported that Lower 48 gas storage operators put a net 84 Bcf into their facilities in the week ending Sept. 13, above the five-year-average injection of 82 Bcf, bringing total working gas supply in the Lower 48 up to 3,019 Bcf, or 393 Bcf above the year-ago level and 77 Bcf below the five-year average.

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