Gas Reserves Hit New High, Forcing Prices Downhill

Natural gas producers are running out of storage space, pushing the cost of their product lower than it has been since 2002.

The latest price drop comes as the government reported that salt caverns, aquifers and other underground areas where natural gas is stored are filling up.

Jeff Hume, chief operating officer of Continental Resources Inc. in Enid, said the news is good for consumers — who will pay less for their utilities — but that producers are suffering.

He said producers have done a good job of working gas resource plays, but that success has put pressure on the natural gas market. Producers must keep drilling for gas or risk losing leases in those lucrative areas.

“I think we’re our own worst enemy right now,” Hume said.

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