據(jù)管道&天然氣雜志網(wǎng)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?yàn)閮Υ鎺齑嫒赃h(yuǎn)低于平均水平，而干旱和缺乏水力發(fā)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(dāng)前美國物價是2008年10月金融危機(jī)加劇、經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)一步陷入大衰退以來，經(jīng)通脹調(diào)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(jié)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(fā)電轉(zhuǎn)向燃煤發(fā)電，同時最大限度地提高鉆井和新產(chǎn)量。

據(jù)油田服務(wù)公司貝克休斯的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，天然氣鉆機(jī)總數(shù)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(chǎn)伴生氣的石油鉆機(jī)臺數(shù)量已從一年前的343臺攀升至576臺，創(chuàng)下2020年初第一波疫情暴發(fā)前的最高水平。

郝芬 譯自 管道&天然氣雜志網(wǎng)

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.