Gas production in the Permian Basin averaged 22.7 Bcf/d during the week ended July 20, which was a similar number to the prior week. Production in the basin popped up after the Gulf Coast Express expansion came online but has since stabilized and remained at this record level. So far in July production has averaged 22.7 Bcf/d, up by 0.6 Bcf/d over June levels. The Gulf Coast Express expansion added 0.6 Bcf/d of new capacity, so the supply increase has been near one-to-one with capacity added, which is not unsurprising given how constrained the basin was prior to the new expansion coming online. However, prices in the basin have been above zero since the project came online, indicating there may still be a little wiggle room in the market for production.
Source: RBN NATGAS Permian, Wood Mackenzie
Permian Basin outflows to the East averaged 13.1 Bcf/d last week, down 0.5 Bcf/d from the week prior. The decline can be seen in the blue line in the chart above. Hugh Brinson pipeline may begin service soon, providing more capacity to the East. Energy Transfer filed with federal regulators to set rates and operating terms for Phase 1 of the Hugh Brinson pipeline last week and some sources are reporting that limited, early service on the pipe has already begun. If that is true, it’s likely minor volumes and only within the basin rather than the full length of the pipeline. Energy Transfer has not confirmed any startup, and flow data does not currently confirm the pipeline as operational. Consistent with this, the latest RBN Arrow Report, released last week, does not include any summer flows on Hugh Brinson in the modeling.
