US gas storage hits 3,500 Bcf, above average, but Gulf salt caverns lag 23%

Serguey Asael Shinder12 October 2026, 08:282 min read

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, released on 8 October, puts working gas in underground storage in the Lower 48 at 3,500 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of 2 October. That is a net injection of 85 Bcf from the previous week's 3,415 Bcf.

Against the benchmarks. Stocks are 130 Bcf (3.6%) below a year earlier, when they stood at 3,630 Bcf, but 68 Bcf (2.0%) above the 2021–2025 five-year average of 3,432 Bcf. EIA notes the total is within the five-year historical range.

By region:

• East 862 Bcf (+22 on the week): 0.7% above last year, 3.7% above the five-year average.
• Midwest 1,010 Bcf (+26): 1.3% above last year, 2.3% above average.
• Mountain 253 Bcf (+5): 7.7% below last year, 5.9% above average.
• Pacific 299 Bcf (+4): 1.6% below last year, 9.1% above average.
• South Central 1,076 Bcf (+28): 10.3% below last year and 2.3% below average — the only region under its five-year norm.

The thin spot. Inside South Central, the salt cavern facilities hold 227 Bcf, 23.1% below a year ago and 14.0% below the five-year average, even after a 14 Bcf injection this week. Non-salt storage in the same region, at 849 Bcf, is 1.4% above average. The distinction matters because salt caverns can be filled and emptied within days and are what the Gulf Coast market draws on to meet sudden demand — a cold snap, or LNG export plants and power stations pulling hard at the same time. Most of the national surplus over the average sits in the slower reservoirs of the East, Midwest and West.

Precision. EIA publishes sampling error alongside the estimate: the standard error on the total weekly net change is 0.8 Bcf, small against an 85 Bcf move, so the direction and size of the injection are not in doubt.

What comes next. The week covered ended before Hurricane Isaias reached the Gulf; offshore shut-ins and any coastal disruption will show up in later reports. The next release is scheduled for 15 October. With the injection season normally ending around the start of November, the question for winter is less the national total — comfortably above average — than whether South Central salt inventories close part of their gap before heating demand starts.

Source: EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, released 8 October 2026 — https://ir.eia.gov/ngs/ngs.html