Natural gas monthly, February 1998

This issue of the Natural Gas Monthly (NGM) presents the most recent estimates of natural gas data from the Energy Information Administration. Estimates extend through February 1998 for many data series, and through November 1997 for most natural gas prices. Highlights of the natural gas data contained in this issue are: Preliminary estimates for January and February 1998 show that dry natural gas production, net imports, and consumption are all within 1 percent of their levels in 1997. Warmer-than-normal weather in recent months has resulted in lower consumption of natural gas by the residential sector and lower net withdrawals of gas from under round storage facilities compared with a year ago. This has resulted in an estimate of the amount of working gas in storage at the end of February 1998 that is 18 percent higher than in February 1997. The national average natural gas wellhead price is estimated to be $3.05 per thousand cubic feet in November 1997, 7 percent higher than in October. The cumulative average wellhead price for January through November 1997 is estimated to be $2.42 per thousand cubic feet, 17 percent above that of the same period in 1996. This price increase is far less than 36-percent rise that occurred between 1995 and 1996. 6 figs., 26 tabs