Washington (Platts)--29Nov2012/228 pm EST/1928 GMT
US natural gas in storage rose 4 Bcf to 3.877 Tcf in the the week that ended Friday, the US Energy Information Administration said Thursday in its weekly report. The net injection was well above consensus expectations, which called for a withdrawal between 9 Bcf and 13 Bcf. A year earlier, EIA reported a 2-Bcf injection to storage. As a result, the 24-Bcf surplus to the year-ago level rose to 26 Bcf, while the 168-Bcf surplus to the five-year average of 3.687 Tcf climbed to 190 Bcf. EIA reported a 12-Bcf withdrawal in the East to 2.042 Tcf, compared with 2.079 Tcf a year ago, a 4-Bcf injection in the West to 548 Bcf, compared with 515 Bcf a year ago and a 12-Bcf injection in the producing region to 1.287 Tcf, compared with 1.257 Tcf a year ago. Inventories now are 5 Bcf above the five-year average of 2.037 Tcf in the East, 50 Bcf above the five-year average of 498 Bcf in the West and 135 Bcf above the five-year average of 1.152 Tcf in the producing region. --Stephanie Seay, stephanie_seay@platts.com--Edited by Jeff Barber, jeff_barber@platts.com