The frac spread — a rough gauge of the value of extracting NGLs from raw gas — hit $6.15/MMbtu last week, its highest level since February 2024. Weak natural gas prices combined with strong NGL prices yielded the wide price differential.
The frac spread is simply the differential between the price of natural gas at Henry Hub and the weighted average price of a typical basket of Mont Belvieu NGLs on a dollars-per-MMBtu basis. The spread is up 165% since January 2026, with natural gas down 20% over the same period while NGLs are up 50%.
As shown in the left graph below, the average annual Frac Spread has ranged between a low of $2.38/MMbtu in 2020 to a high of $5.30/MMBtu in 2021. Since 2017, it has averaged just over $4.00/MMbtu. The Frac Spread will likely stay strong as long as natural gas prices remain low and crude prices (which influence most NGL prices) remain at elevated levels.
