The US Department of Energy said on Monday that peak natural gas storage capacity rose by a modest 100bn cubic feet in the year to April, suggesting gas stockpiles will be close to tapping out capacity this fall.
In a widely anticipated update, the department’s Energy Information Administration said peak capacity in the lower 48 US states is 3,889bn cubic feet, a 2.6 per cent increase from 2008. Forecasters in a separate wing of the agency predict gas socked away underground will rise to a record 3,800bn cubic feet by October, easily surpassing the record of two years ago.
