Nearly 35 years elapsed between the fall of Saigon and the publication of Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn – considered one of the best novels to come out of the Vietnam War. In contrast, the Matterhorn Express Pipeline is coming into service a mere three years after the last major gas pipelines out of the Permian were built, although the pipeline has been so hotly anticipated that the wait may have seemed like decades to some in the market. As seen in the route map below, the pipeline will ultimately transport up to 2.5 Bcf/d from Pecos County in the Permian basin to the Katy Hub and to Wharton County, TX, which are both just West of Houston. While Matterhorn Express itself does not have to report pipeline flows because it’s an intrastate pipeline, some flow data for the pipe is reported through connections with interstate pipelines. Both Transco and Texas Eastern Pipeline reported deliveries from Matterhorn beginning on October 1 and every day since. Currently, Transco is receiving around 0.4 Bcf/d of gas from Matterhorn at the Clarks Branch interconnect in Wharton County, and Texas Eastern is receiving around 0.16 Bcf/d at the Hillboldt Road interconnect in Austin County.
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Waha Dives Back to Negative Despite Matterhorn Gas Flows
Hugh Do You Love? Encore Edition - A New Entrant to Tackle the Permian's Dire Need for Gas Takeaway Capacity
Negative natural gas prices have been breaking hearts in the Permian Basin for many years, with pipeline development struggling to keep pace with rapid increases in associated gas production, but 2024 has shattered all previous records for the severity and length of negatively priced periods. The Matterhorn Express Pipeline, which started partial service at the beginning of October, is helping to stabilize the market for now, but with more production gains on the way, additional takeaway capacity will be needed. And after this year’s run of negative prices, producers have been willing to commit to new capacity.
Hugh Do You Love? - A New Entrant to Tackle the Permian's Dire Need for Gas Takeaway Capacity
Negative natural gas prices have been breaking hearts in the Permian Basin for many years, with pipeline development struggling to keep pace with rapid increases in associated gas production, but 2024 has shattered all previous records for the severity and length of negatively priced periods. The Matterhorn Express Pipeline, which started partial service at the beginning of October, is helping to stabilize the market for now, but with more production gains on the way, additional takeaway capacity will be needed. And after this year’s run of negative prices, producers have been willing to commit to new capacity.
