US natural gas prices declined for a second consecutive session on Monday, slipping to about $3.11/MMBtu, as traders awaited further clarity on the status of the Mountaineer XPress pipeline in West Virginia. TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission unit, which declared force majeure on Thursday due to an unexpected mechanical issue, said Friday that repair crews are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. The outage is disrupting an estimated 1.4–1.8 bcfd of gas flows.
On the demand side, strong LNG feedgas consumption continued to lend support to prices. Flows to the nine major US export terminals averaged 17.9 bcfd in September, up from 17.2 bcfd in August, even with the 0.8-bcfd Cove Point facility offline for scheduled maintenance.
Hot weather has also begun to erode the storage surplus built up earlier in the year, when robust output coincided with mild spring temperatures. Although average September production remains near record highs at around 112.5 bcfd, daily volumes have recently declined, driven mainly by lower output in West Virginia and Texas.
