Northwest US natural gas prices remain historically low in 2025

At Northwest Sumas, a key pricing hub for natural gas in the US Pacific Northwest, the daily spot price averaged US$1.59 per million Btu in 2025 through August and reached its lowest ever monthly average price of US$0.56 per million Btu in June, according to data from Natural Gas Intelligence. The monthly average price for the first eight months of 2025 is the lowest for this period of any year since at least 1999, and it is about 17% lower than in this same period in 2024.

Low prices at Northwest Sumas in 2025 reflect robust Western Canadian supply of natural gas. Marketable natural gas production in Canada has set record highs this year, led by the Montney, a shale basin in British Columbia, and steady volumes from Alberta. British Columbia production averaged a record high of 7.8 billion ft³/d in July, and production in Alberta reached a high in March of 11.6 billion ft³/d, according to data from S&P Global Insights. In addition, higher renewable generation in the electric power sector displaced some natural gas-fired output, while overall regional electricity demand was lower than the previous five-year average.

With plentiful upstream supply and minimal sustained pipeline capacity constraints in 2025, cross-border natural gas flows into the Pacific Northwest are also at record highs. Net flows from Canada into the Pacific Northwest averaged 4.5 billion ft³/d in February 2025, the highest monthly average in data going back to 2012, before easing seasonally in late spring and into summer. The sharp decline in August reflected rising Western Canadian LNG demand, diverting natural gas from the Pacific Northwest. However, a persistent positive price spread between Northwest Sumas and upstream Western Canadian hubs has continued to incentivise Canadian imports into the Pacific Northwest. From January through August 2025, this spread averaged US$0.87 against Westcoast Station 2, the Western Canadian benchmark.

In the Pacific Northwest, natural gas use for electrical power has been low in 2025. Through the 1H25 natural gas burn was about 12% lower than in 2024 and 7% below the average of the five years prior to that (2019 - 23). Cooler summer weather reduced air-conditioning demand and limited natural gas consumption. Cooling degree days at Portland Airport were down 38% compared with 2024 and were 21% below the previous five-year average.

At the same time, greater renewable generation further displaced natural gas in the region’s power mix. Compared with 2024, wind generation rose 2%, and solar generation rose 21%. Hydropower generation also was higher than last year, although it remained below the 10-year average. Relative to the previous five-year average, wind output increased 14%, and solar increased 64%. Together, mild weather and increased renewable output explain why regional natural gas consumption for electricity remained subdued despite higher Canadian supply into the region.

In the Pacific Northwest, natural gas inventories have remained consistently above the five-year average for the past two years. The Jackson Prairie underground storage facility, operated by Puget Sound Energy in southwest Washington, is the largest natural gas storage facility in the Pacific Northwest, with a working gas capacity of 24.6 billion ft³/d. As of 7 September 2025, Jackson Prairie was more than 95% full, according to co-owner Williams.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/12092025/northwest-us-natural-gas-prices-remain-historically-low-in-2025/