Western US Natural Gas Spot Prices Exceed $50/MMBtu in December 2022, EIA Reports
06:01 AM EST, 01/06/2023 (MT Newswires) -- Natural gas spot prices at three major trading hubs in the western US exceeded $50 per million British thermal units in December 2022, the highest level of any other US market and surpassing the Henry Hub benchmark price, the US Energy Information Administration reported Thursday.
Pacific Gas & Electric Citygate and Malin, Oregon, reported the highest natural gas spot prices since December 2000, the EIA said, citing pricing data from Natural Gas Intelligence. Prices at Sumas on the Canada-Washington border also settled higher than $50/MMBtu in December 2022.
The price surge can be attributed to widespread below-normal temperatures, high natural gas consumption, reduced natural gas flows, pipeline constraints and low natural gas storage levels in the Pacific region, the EIA noted.
The first three weeks of December 2022 saw a 23% increase in gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors in the Pacific Northwest and California combined, compared with the second half of November, data from Point Logic show. Meanwhile, gas flows from Canada to the western region were down by 4% in the first three weeks of December compared with the second half of November, and deliveries from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest were also down by 9%.