US natural gas stockpiles in underground storage stood at 2,483 billion cubic feet for the week ending May 22, up 92 Bcf from the previous week, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report Thursday.
Inventories were 21 Bcf above year-ago levels and 144 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,339 Bcf.
At 2,483 Bcf, total working gas remains within the five-year historical range, the EIA said.
US weekly ethanol production rose, according to the US Energy Information Administration report on Thursday.For the week ending May 15, US ethanol production averaged 1.11 million barrels per day, above last week's 1.08 million barrels per day and a year ago's 1.04 million barrels per day.
Russia signed an agreement with Kazakhstan on Thursday to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant, a $16.4 billion project that will be partly financed through a major Russian export loan, according to multiple media reports.Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the agreement for the Balkhash nuclear power plant will ensure the development of new related energy sectors.The construction of the two power units is expected to cost about $14.4 billion, with an additional $2 billion allocated for physical security systems and related social infrastructure.The project has already entered the implementation phase, with engineering surveys currently underway. Main construction work at the site is scheduled to begin in 2027."Construction typically takes up to 10 years, but as agreed with our partners, we expect the first unit to be operational by 2034," said Almassadam Satkaliyev, chairman of the Kazakh Atomic Energy Agency.Russia's state-owned Rosatom was reportedly selected to lead construction of the plant, beating bids from China National Nuclear Corporation, France's EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.The plant will be built near the village of Ulken on the shores of Lake Balkhash in southeastern Kazakhstan, a site approved after a 2024 referendum backed the construction of the country's first nuclear facility.
US natural gas futures were up on Thursday, ahead of the weekly gas storage report, with forecasts pointing towards a bullish build.Both the July front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract rose 2.04% to $3.158 per million British thermal units.The US Energy Information Administration is set to unveil its weekly natural gas storage report for the week ended May 22, later in the day on Thursday. Forecasts call for a net injection of 95 Bcf into storage, below the five-year average of 97 Bcf for this period and the prior year's 104 Bcf, according to data from Investing.com.This comes amid a rebound in LNG feedgas flows, which jumped 8% from the prior week, touching 18.2 Bcf on Tuesday, according to Trading Economics.On a bearish note, however, power burn demand is set to drop by 2.5 Bcf per day on Thursday, compared to Wednesday, as weather conditions continue to get milder, according to NRG Energy.According to Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy, the July natural gas contract is expected to remain "range bound between resistance at $3.14 and support at $3.01 over the next several days," while the December 2026 and February 2027 contracts could touch $4 per MMBtu.