HOUSTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Working gas storage in the contiguous United States was 2,323 billion cubic feet in the week ending Jan. 28, a net decrease of 268 billion cubic feet from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday in a report.
The total working gas storage decreased by 14.5 percent from this time last year, or down 5.8 percent from the five-year average, according to the EIA's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report.
The storage of working gas in the United States usually turns to decrease in November and continues to drop in April when heating season ends in the country, according to previous data.
Working gas is defined as the amount of natural gas stored underground that can be withdrawn for use. Its storage capacity can be measured in two ways: design capacity and demonstrated maximum working gas capacity.
The contiguous United States consists of the 48 adjoining states of the United States, plus the District of Columbia, and excludes the non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii, and all off-shore insular areas.
As the world's important energy producers and consumers, the United States and China have great potential in energy cooperation, experts say.
According to the latest release from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's output of natural gas increased by 8.2 percent in 2021 year on year.
The country imported more natural gas in 2021, which went up 19.9 percent from a year earlier to 121.36 million tons, the data showed. ■
