TD Notes The Gas Line
Weekly Gas Charts
Inventory Draw Higher Than Expected and Above Normal (First Time This Year). Storage levels decreased by 217 Bcf w/w versus consensus expectations of a 199 Bcf withdrawal. This is the first higher-than-normal withdrawal this year and breaks the trend of a series of relatively low withdrawals and even an injection to start the year. Expectations for next week are for a withdrawal of 70-90 Bcf, which compares with the five-year average withdrawal of 150 Bcf. U.S. gas storage levels are now 5% above the five-year average and 11% above year ago levels.
Total days of supply sits 7% below the five-year average and 9% above year- ago levels. U.S. production remains ~5% above year-ago levels. Last week, federal regulators approved the next stage of the pending restart at Freeport LNG (cool-down process and reintroduction of hydrocarbons within Train 3). That said, according to media sources, it could be several weeks or even months before the facility starts receiving significant gas flows.