American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024 - 43

SpecialReport: Natural Gas White Papers
balances this winter, despite the expectation
for production gains and relatively
flat power consumption.
More typical wintertime temperatures
mean more heating degree days and
stronger space heating demand. NGSA's
report projects 7% cooler temperatures
than last winter and 4% cooler than the
three-year wintertime average, resulting
in 3.433 heating degree days this winter
compared to 3,219 heating degree days
last winter (Figure 5).
Driven by colder temperatures, demand
in the residential and commercial sectors
is estimated to be 14% higher this winter
at 39.5 Bcf/d compared with 34.6 Bcf/d
last winter and 36.4 Bcf/d average over
the past three winters.
Looking at the supply side, start-ofwinter
storage inventories are 6% higher
year-over-year, but stronger demand is
expected to lead to average daily storage
withdrawals increasing from 9.8 Bcf last
winter to 14.0 Bcf, whittling the storage
overhang down toward the five-year average
by the end of March 2025. The
end result is an overall neutral impact
from storage on natural gas price pressures
this winter.
Likewise, although U.S. gas production
is expected to reach a record 104.5
Bcf/d this winter, up from 103.2 Bcf/d
last year and from a three-year average
of 99.9 Bcf/d, higher demand should
more than offset the incremental supply
additions with little effect on gas price
pressures. Growth in associated gas production
in the Permian Basin is expected
to continue to outpace dry gas and associated
gas increases in all other U.S.
basins combined.
Overall, NGSA's annual report once
again demonstrates the critical importance
of natural gas in the domestic and
global energy mixes, and underscores
the fact that U.S. producers are rising
to the challenge of meeting strong winter
demand for natural gas both at home
and abroad.
❒
Editor's Note: The preceding article
was adapted from the Natural Gas Supply
Association's 24th annual Winter Outlook
report, which was developed using data
from Energy Ventures Analysis Inc.
NGSA does not project wholesale or
retail market prices.
DENA E. WIGGINS is president and CEO of the Natural
Gas Supply Association, leading NGSA's efforts to advance
the natural gas industry's economic and environmental agenda
with member companies, regulators, legislators, and other key
stakeholders. Wiggins has spent much of her professional
career engaged in representing producer/marketers before the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and has been involved
in every major natural gas rulemaking since Order No. 436.
She is deeply involved in the National Association of Regulatory
Utility Commissioners, particularly the Committee on Gas,
where she has advocated for the benefits of natural gas in a
lower-carbon energy future. Prior to NGSA, Wiggins was a
partner in the law firm of Ballard Spahr and served as general
counsel to the Process Gas Consumers Group. She holds a
B.A, from the University of Richmond and a J.D. from Georgetown
University Law Center.
DECEMBER 2024 43
American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2024

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