An unseasonably warm March has meant an early start to the injection season and an increase of natural gas in storage, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported.

According to the EIA, producers added 37 Bcf of natural gas to U.S. stocks on the week ending March 21. Producers added 9 Bcf the week before, the first time since Nov. 8 that U.S. stocks rose instead of falling.

The 37 Bcf injection was in line with market expectations, according to a forecast from East Daley Analytics (EDA) on March 26. East Daley noted the injection season in the U.S. arrived early along with the spring season.

Injection season started about three weeks early, according to the EIA’s five-year average, but has a way to go to get back to normal levels. The total amount of natural gas in storage on March 21 was 1.744 Tcf, 6.5% below the average.

Henry Hub prices were flat following the news. After hitting a high of $4.45/MMBtu on March 10, prices have steadily declined. By mid-day of March 27 trading, the front-month futures price was $3.92.

EIA NatGas Storage
Natural gas storage levels. (Source: EIA)

LNG growth

Natural gas prices have remained well above last year’s levels. EDA predicted prices will average above $4.30/MMBtu over the summer as demand for LNG feedstock and electrical power increases.

The EIA released another report on March 27, showing the U.S. continues to hold the spot as the world’s largest exporter of LNG in 2024, averaging 11.9 Bcf/d of natural gas. The next-highest countries were Australia (10.7 Bcf/d) and Qatar (10.2 Bcf/d).

Venture Global’s Plaquemines and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 LNG projects both began production near the end of 2024 and expect to ramp up production in 2025.

EIA LNG Exports
Monthly LNG exports from the U.S., Australia, Qatar, Russia and Malaysia. (Source: EIA)
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