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Global natural gas demand rose by 6.1 billion cubic meters (bcm) in September from a year earlier, and inventories jumped to a record high, the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) said in its monthly oil and gas overview on Monday.
Worldwide natural gas production also rose year-over-year by 7.65 bcm in September, according to the latest data after 52 countries updated their self-reported figures in the JODI database.
The growth in production compared to September 2023 was driven by Russia, the United States, Nigeria, Norway, Canada, and Azerbaijan, the data showed.
Meanwhile, natural gas inventories jumped and were 12.6 bcm above the five-year average, according to the JODI data shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).
Total natural gas inventories rose by 9.9 bcm in September compared to August, settling at a new high of 251 bcm, the data showed, as countries were stockpiling gas ahead of the winter in the northern hemisphere.
Combined natural gas inventories in the EU and the UK rose by 2.3 bcm month-on-month and remained almost unchanged year-over-year, settling at 98.7 bcm in September, according to the JODI database.
While global demand in September fell from August, the EU + UK demand increased by 3.06 bcm month-on-month to settle at 21.9 bcm in September.
In the middle of August, the EU reached its target of filling gas storage facilities to 90% of capacity 10 weeks ahead of the 1 November deadline. This achievement is on par with last year, when EU countries reached the 90% target on August 18, the European Commission said three months ago.
In mid-October, the EU storage was already 95% full. With the beginning of the heating season and the low wind speeds across most of northwest Europe in recent weeks, EU countries are already drawing down the gas in storage, which was 90% full as of November 16, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
