Natural gas storage, the backbone of U.S. energy security, has seen issues arise as pipeline operators deal with outages and price volatility, according to industry experts.

The North American gas pipeline system has been dealing with more force majeures and maintenance events, energy industry professionals said this week in Chicago at the LDC Gas Forums Mid-Continent conference. Gas storage levels have eclipsed year/year and five-year averages, but as additional LNG facilities come online in the next two years, with more domestic supply heading overseas, that could change.

“The last couple years have been tough on any buyer to get out into the market,” said Enbridge Gas Inc.’s Dave Janisse, who manages Gas Supply Acquisition. “This year has been a breath of fresh...