US Gas Storage Rises 77 Bcf to 3,801 Bcf, EIA Reports

By Daniel Okafor

Lower 48 working gas in underground storage rose 77 Bcf for the week ended October 30, 2026, the US Energy Information Administration reported Thursday. Total inventories stand at 3,801 Bcf. That is a modest build by late-autumn standards, and it lands inside the five-year historical range.

The comparison frames matter more than the headline. Stocks sit 109 Bcf below the same week last year, a deficit of 2.8 percent. They also sit 54 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,747 Bcf, a surplus of 1.4 percent. For context, 77 Bcf is roughly one full day of peak-winter national demand — a single cold snap can burn through it.

Where did the gas go?

Every region posted a net injection except the Pacific, which drew 1 Bcf. The regional breakdown, in Bcf:

• East: 926, up 13 on the week; 1.8 percent above year-ago and 2.5 percent above the five-year average.
• Midwest: 1,111, up 23; 0.8 percent above last year and 2.0 percent above the average.
• Mountain: 260, up 2; 9.7 percent below year-ago but 4.0 percent above the average.
• Pacific: 296, down 1; 6.9 percent below year-ago, though 4.6 percent above the average.
• South Central: 1,208, up 40; 6.6 percent below year-ago and 1.1 percent below the average.

South Central did the heavy lifting, as it usually does. Its 40 Bcf build accounted for more than half the national net injection. Salt caverns there added 22 Bcf to reach 296 Bcf; nonsalt facilities added 18 Bcf to reach 912 Bcf.

What do the comparisons show?

The year-ago deficits cluster in the producing and trading regions. South Central is 86 Bcf short of its October 30, 2025 level, and its salt caverns alone are 44 Bcf short — 12.9 percent below last year. The Mountain region is 28 Bcf below year-ago. The East and Midwest, by contrast, hold slightly more gas than a year ago.

Against the five-year average, the picture is friendlier. Four of five regions sit above the norm, led by the Pacific at 4.6 percent above. South Central is the exception, 1.1 percent below, dragged by its salt stocks at 8.1 percent below the average.

Totals may not equal the sum of components because of independent rounding, as the EIA notes.

What happens next?

The storage season has a few weeks left. Beyond mid-November, injections typically stop and withdrawals begin. The 54 Bcf cushion against the five-year average gives the market little cause for alarm and little cause for celebration — a surplus of 1.4 percent is statistical noise dressed as a data point.

The sturdier signal sits in the year-ago deficit and its location. South Central storage backs Gulf Coast exports and balancing for much of the country. A 12.9 percent hole in its salt caverns, entering withdrawal season, is the number to watch.

The watch item: whether early-winter draws close that gap or widen it.