Natural Gas & Oil Market Report - RFF Energy Solutions Nightcap

April 22, 2026 by Sean Dookie

Natural Gas & Oil

May '26 Trading range today: $2.64 to $2.71.

Natgas had another uneventful day of movement.

NYMEX gas refused to fall below $2.60 even with plenty of bears in the market.

The latest storage report prediction is an injection of 94Bcf.

Compare that to +88Bcf last year and the 5-year average of +58Bcf.

LNG

New structural demand expected to hit the market soon with Golden Pass and Corpus Christi terminals opening up.

The additional export volume isn't being priced in just yet to NYMEX pricing.

One area that is pricing in additional LNG exports is California with the Costa Azul LNG terminal in Mexico slated to open July '26.

Power

Developers plan to add a record 86GW of new utility-scale capacity in 2026 – the highest in US history for 1 year.

Solar accounts for 51% of the development, with major growth in TX, AZ, CA, and MI.

Battery Storage is the second largest area for new capacity at 28%.

Today's Drivers

The Bears – ($2.60 to $1.90 range) – Cool east keeping CDDs away, weak demand across the US, strong injection expected Thursday, RE generation contributing nicely.

The Bulls – ($2.95 to $3.25 range) – LNG exports near capacity and growing, production slowing, summer demand is coming.

Today's Special – Silicon Valley Loves Farm Raised Nuclear

The DOE announced a new initiative to provide low-cost financing aimed at 5GW of nuclear output by 2029 through current plant upgrades to meet the AI/DC demand.

Kairos Power/Google just broke ground on their nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, TN, expected to be operational by 2030.

Meta has signed agreements to procure energy from future TerraPower Natrium reactors to power up their Ohio operations.

Wasn't it just a few years ago that both of these groups were pushing W&S for power gen?

Our Nightcap Beats Their Recap