Waha cash prices averaged $1.55/MMBtu during the week ended June 22 according to Bloomberg data. This was $2.31/MMBtu higher than the prior week. Prices surged back above zero early last week and then continued to climb throughout the week. Production held steady and new capacity came online from Kinder Morgan’s Gulf Coast Express expansion. The expansion added 0.57 Bcf/d of takeaway capacity and gives the basin some breathing room in the short-term ahead of two new pipelines coming on later this year. Together, the three projects will add over 4.5 Bcf/d of new takeaway capacity for the basin and provide ample room for production to grow. The ramp in Eastbound exit capacity is visible in the dotted line in the chart below.
Source: RBN NATGAS Permian, Wood Mackenzie
Total outflows from the Permian were slightly higher last week, with lower outflows to the West offset by higher outflows to the East and Mexico. Outflows to the West averaged 2.1 Bcf/d, down 0.6 Bcf/d week-on-week with lower flows on El Paso Pipeline because of maintenance work and an ongoing force majeure in Lea County, New Mexico. Outflows to Mexico averaged 2.2 Bcf/d, up 0.2 Bcf/d week-on-week and consistent with peak summer levels. Outflows to the East averaged 13.2 Bcf/d, up 0.5 Bcf/d week-on-week. The expansion on Gulf Coast Express appears to have been placed into service on June 9. Reported flows on the pipeline have been elevated since then, and there are two new interconnects in the Agua Dulce area reporting data, connections between Gulf Coast Express and NGPL and Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
