據管道&天然氣雜志網5月31日報道，美國天然氣價格已攀升至13年多來的最高水平，因為儲存庫存仍遠低于平均水平，而干旱和缺乏水力發電可能會使其更加緊張。路易斯安那州亨利中心（HenryHub）交付的天然氣的即月期貨價格已攀升至每百萬英熱單位9美元左右，高于去年同期的3美元。

當前美國物價是2008年10月金融危機加劇、經濟進一步陷入大衰退以來，經通脹調整后的最高水平。上周，地下儲氣庫的工作儲量為3480億立方英尺，比疫情前的五年季節性平均水平低16%。高油價表明，需要減少消耗，包括盡可能從天然氣發電轉向燃煤發電，同時最大限度地提高鉆井和新產量。

據油田服務公司貝克休斯的數據顯示，天然氣鉆機總數已攀升至150臺，為2019年末以來的最高水平，而一年前的這個時候只有100臺。生產伴生氣的石油鉆機臺數量已從一年前的343臺攀升至576臺，創下2020年初第一波疫情暴發前的最高水平。

郝芬 譯自 管道&天然氣雜志網

原文如下：

US Gas Drilling Rig Count Highest Since 2019

U.S. natural gas prices have climbed to the highest in more than 13 years as storage inventories remain well below average while the drought and lack of hydroelectric generation threatens to stretch them even further. Front-month futures prices for gas delivered at Henry Hub in Louisiana have climbed to around $9 per million Btu, up from $3 at the same point a year ago.

Prices are the highest after adjusting for inflation since October 2008, when the financial crisis was intensifying, and the economy was heading deeper into the great recession. Last week, working stocks in underground gas storage were 348 billion cubic feet (16%) below the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average. High prices signal the need to reduce consumption, including by switching from gas-fired to coal-fired generation as much as possible, while maximizing drilling and new production.

The total number of rigs drilling for gas has climbed to 150, the highest since late 2019, and up from just 100 this time a year ago, according to field services company Baker Hughes. The number of oil rigs, which produce associated gas as a byproduct, has climbed to 576, up from 343 a year ago, and the highest since just before the first wave of the pandemic arrived in early 2020.