{"id":"north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","canonicalSlug":"north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","language":"en","title":"U.S. gas stocks rise 77 Bcf as October storage remains above five-year average","summary":"EIA estimated 3,644 Bcf of working gas underground on October 16, 35 Bcf above the 2021–25 average but 152 Bcf below a year earlier.","body":["The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that working natural gas in the Lower 48 states reached 3,644 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending October 16. The report, released October 22, showed a 77 Bcf weekly injection, compared with stocks of 3,567 Bcf one week earlier. EIA said the total remained within the five-year historical range.","The national total was 152 Bcf, or 4.0%, below the 3,796 Bcf recorded for the same week in 2025. It was 35 Bcf, or 1.0%, above the 2021–25 average of 3,609 Bcf. Those comparisons use different reference points: the year-on-year gap describes the change from last year, while the five-year comparison places the latest estimate against a historical average. Neither comparison alone establishes whether supply is adequate for the coming winter.","Regional changes were uneven. East stocks rose 16 Bcf, while Midwest and South Central each increased 28 Bcf, including 15 Bcf in salt-cavern storage and 14 Bcf in nonsalt facilities. Mountain stocks added 2 Bcf and Pacific stocks 3 Bcf. South Central held 1,125 Bcf, the largest regional total in the table, while the East held 900 Bcf and Midwest 1,065 Bcf.","The national injection is a weekly estimate rather than a direct count of every storage facility. EIA publishes estimated sampling variability alongside the series. For the October 16 total, its reported coefficient of variation was 0.4%, and the standard error for the 77 Bcf net change was 0.8 Bcf. Components may not sum exactly to the national total because each is rounded independently.","The figures describe working gas held underground, not total U.S. gas production, consumption, or deliverable pipeline capacity. They also do not forecast winter demand or prices. Weather, production, imports and exports, and withdrawals in later weeks can all alter the seasonal balance. The next weekly report was scheduled for October 29.","“Working gas” is the portion of underground inventory above base, or cushion, gas. EIA defines it as gas available for withdrawal; base gas is generally kept in the reservoir to maintain pressure and withdrawal capability. The reported 3,644 Bcf therefore is not the full physical contents of storage, a measure of storage capacity, or a daily deliverability figure. EIA notes that withdrawal rates can vary with the amount of gas in a reservoir and the capabilities of its equipment.","The weekly series is built from operator survey responses, which EIA uses to estimate stocks across facilities and regions. In the report’s terminology, the 77 Bcf net change is the estimated difference in working-gas stocks between the two weekly observations. EIA publishes uncertainty measures because the result is an estimate: for this week, the standard error for the net change was 0.8 Bcf. Later reports can revise earlier observations when operators submit qualifying corrections. This statistical context helps distinguish a weekly inventory signal from a complete accounting of every gas molecule moving through the U.S. system."],"keyPoints":[],"sections":[],"text":"U.S. gas stocks rise 77 Bcf as October storage remains above five-year average\n\nEIA estimated 3,644 Bcf of working gas underground on October 16, 35 Bcf above the 2021–25 average but 152 Bcf below a year earlier.\n\nThe U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that working natural gas in the Lower 48 states reached 3,644 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending October 16. The report, released October 22, showed a 77 Bcf weekly injection, compared with stocks of 3,567 Bcf one week earlier. EIA said the total remained within the five-year historical range.\n\nThe national total was 152 Bcf, or 4.0%, below the 3,796 Bcf recorded for the same week in 2025. It was 35 Bcf, or 1.0%, above the 2021–25 average of 3,609 Bcf. Those comparisons use different reference points: the year-on-year gap describes the change from last year, while the five-year comparison places the latest estimate against a historical average. Neither comparison alone establishes whether supply is adequate for the coming winter.\n\nRegional changes were uneven. East stocks rose 16 Bcf, while Midwest and South Central each increased 28 Bcf, including 15 Bcf in salt-cavern storage and 14 Bcf in nonsalt facilities. Mountain stocks added 2 Bcf and Pacific stocks 3 Bcf. South Central held 1,125 Bcf, the largest regional total in the table, while the East held 900 Bcf and Midwest 1,065 Bcf.\n\nThe national injection is a weekly estimate rather than a direct count of every storage facility. EIA publishes estimated sampling variability alongside the series. For the October 16 total, its reported coefficient of variation was 0.4%, and the standard error for the 77 Bcf net change was 0.8 Bcf. Components may not sum exactly to the national total because each is rounded independently.\n\nThe figures describe working gas held underground, not total U.S. gas production, consumption, or deliverable pipeline capacity. They also do not forecast winter demand or prices. Weather, production, imports and exports, and withdrawals in later weeks can all alter the seasonal balance. The next weekly report was scheduled for October 29.\n\n“Working gas” is the portion of underground inventory above base, or cushion, gas. EIA defines it as gas available for withdrawal; base gas is generally kept in the reservoir to maintain pressure and withdrawal capability. The reported 3,644 Bcf therefore is not the full physical contents of storage, a measure of storage capacity, or a daily deliverability figure. EIA notes that withdrawal rates can vary with the amount of gas in a reservoir and the capabilities of its equipment.\n\nThe weekly series is built from operator survey responses, which EIA uses to estimate stocks across facilities and regions. In the report’s terminology, the 77 Bcf net change is the estimated difference in working-gas stocks between the two weekly observations. EIA publishes uncertainty measures because the result is an estimate: for this week, the standard error for the net change was 0.8 Bcf. Later reports can revise earlier observations when operators submit qualifying corrections. This statistical context helps distinguish a weekly inventory signal from a complete accounting of every gas molecule moving through the U.S. system.","category":"energy","region":"world","topics":["gas","statistics"],"eventDate":"2026-10-16","eventDateBasis":"Weekly U.S. working-gas stock estimate for the week ending October 16, released by EIA on October 22, 2026.","publishedAt":"2026-10-25T20:44:46Z","modifiedAt":"2026-10-25T20:44:46Z","publicationBasis":"first-publication","preparedAt":"2026-10-25T20:44:21Z","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-10-22","translatedAt":"2026-10-25T20:38:02Z","sources":[{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/storage/","name":"U.S. Energy Information Administration","checkedAt":"2026-10-25","attribution":"U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report for the week ending October 16, 2026; data and summary attributed to EIA.","publishedAt":"2026-10-22"},{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/storage/basics/","name":"U.S. Energy Information Administration — Basics of Underground Natural Gas Storage","checkedAt":"2026-10-25","attribution":"EIA definitions of working gas, base gas and storage deliverability."},{"url":"https://ir.eia.gov/ngs/methodology.html","name":"U.S. Energy Information Administration — Weekly Storage Methodology","checkedAt":"2026-10-25","attribution":"EIA methodology for survey-based weekly working-gas estimates and revisions."}],"translations":{"en":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","tr":"https://wellficent.com/tr/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","ar":"https://wellficent.com/ar/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","fr":"https://wellficent.com/fr/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","es":"https://wellficent.com/es/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","ru":"https://wellficent.com/ru/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026","pt":"https://wellficent.com/pt/news/north-america-eia-gas-storage-oct-22-2026"},"corrections":[],"locations":[],"type":"news","classification":{"version":"1","dataKinds":["statistical-release"],"geographies":[{"role":"economic-scope","countryCode":"US","subdivisionCode":null}],"evidenceBasis":["statistical-estimate"],"measurementPeriod":{"to":"2026-10-16","from":"2026-10-16","precision":"day"}}}