Multiple companies including BP, Chevron, Equinor and Shell have evacuated staff at offshore oil platforms and paused some production in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images.

The amount of working gas in storage stood at 3.49tcf as of 20 September 2024, according to Energy Information Agency estimates, representing a net increase of 47 billion cubic feet from the previous week.  

Stocks were 159bcf higher than the same time last year, 233bcf above the five-year average of 3.26tcf. The total of working gas is 3.49tcf, within the five-year historical range. 

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Natural gas prices also fell 26% from the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023) to Q1 2024, reaching their lowest average monthly inflation-adjusted price since at least 1997.  

In the first half of 2024, average US net natural gas exports were 12.6 billion cubic feet per day, a 1% increase from last year. This growth is mainly due to higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and exports to Mexico.  

Since 2017, the US has been a net exporter of natural gas, trading with Canada, Mexico and more than 40 other countries. However, traders are currently concerned about energy infrastructure in the US and the Gulf of Mexico due to potential disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene.  

Hurricane Helene is now expected to move towards the Florida Big Bend coast, meaning it will not affect the major oil and natural gas-producing areas near Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. 

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As of 25 September, 29% of oil production (511,000 barrels per day) and 17% of natural gas production (313 million cubic feet per day) in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down.  

The US Coast Guard reported that several Gulf Coast ports are closed. Port Tampa Bay – which typically handles more than 17 million tons of petroleum and natural gas-related products annually –  has halted inbound and outbound vessel traffic.  

The duration of the port closures and Hurricane Helene’s effects on the transportation of petroleum and natural gas are currently unknown.