COVID-19 Crises To Suppress Daily US Natural Gas Use By 3.4Bln Cubic Feet In 2020 - Report

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2020) The novel coronavirus pandemic combined with an unusually mild winter will depress US natural gas consumption this year by 3.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) compared with 2019, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday.

"EIA expects domestic consumption of natural gas in 2020 will fall 3.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) compared with 2019, led by a 1.6 Bcf/d decline in industrial natural gas consumption. EIA forecasts lower overall US consumption in 2020 because of reduced economic activity related to the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and milder-than-normal temperatures in the first quarter of 2020 that reduced demand for space heating in buildings," the report said.

In 2020, EIA expects natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors to decrease by 3.7 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, the report said.

Warmer weather in the first quarter of 2020 was the largest contributor to falling residential demand, the report added.

Weak economic conditions from nationwide virus-related lockdowns cut into industrial demand, which EIA expects to decline in the United States from an average of 21.4 Bcf/d in 2019 to an average of 19.9 Bcf/d in 2020, the first time it has dipped lower than 20.0 Bcf/d since the summer of 2016, according to the report.