Cooling demand surges across California, prompts unseasonal gas storage draw

摘要

As a historic heatwave scorches stretches of California, the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field continues to report daily net withdrawals in order to meet cooling demand, catapulting regional prices. Southern California Gas Company has withdrawn from Aliso Canyon inventories for six consecutive days as of Aug. 19, the first time it has done so since early April, as torrid temperatures continue to put pressure on gas prices amid system constraints driven by elevated demand. More than 1.5 Bcf has been withdrawn from Aliso Canyon since Aug. 13, and there are likely to be additional draws this week as demand is expected to remain high, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. Data indicates on-system demand hit a summer-to-date high of 3.38 Bcf/d on Aug. 17, more than 1 Bcf/d above the the prior 30-day average.