Change in the Weather and More Economic Stability Portends Slightly More U.S. Gas Consumption, Analyst Says; Worldwide Oil Consumption and Production Should Also Increase

摘要

Natural gas consumption will "likely be greater" than expected over the next several months, according to a report from Strategic Energy and Economic Research inc. (SEER). The author of the study, Ron Denhardt, SEER vice president of natural gas services, expects deliveries of gas to residential customers to be 2.4% higher than last year's (January-March) levels and commercial deliveries during that time to be up 2.5%. Denhardt attributed the increase in projected consumption to "a more optimistic economic outlook and recent weather forecasts calling for colder than normal weather." Accordingly, the company is lowering its prediction for storage levels for March by about 85 Bcf.