May 19, 2016 – Seeking Alpha
Expanding U.S. Hydrocarbons: Rich Liquids And Crackers
By: Jennifer Warren
Summary
- The natural gas liquids trade is expected to grow in the U.S. and globally.
- Midstream firms have built out pipeline and processing capacity to meet upcoming demand.
- The U.S. infrastructure build-out will offer competition and new supplier choices in the global energy landscape.
In light of shale oil and gas production prospects in the U.S., the natural gas liquids trade is expected to grow. Globally, NGL production grew by 70% from 2014 levels, according to Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) in its recent energy outlook. At the Texas Energy Council conference, natural gas liquids exports were highlighted in an industry overview. Both liquefied petroleum gases and ethane exports are expected to increase…
Read the full story here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3976144-expanding-u-s-hydrocarbons-rich-liquids-crackers
That's a lot of crackers
From the RBN Energy analyst presentation, it was noted that by 2018, there will be considerable demand by petroleum crackers, which will cause a rebound in natural gas liquid prices. With the U.S.'s abundance of NGLs, because of shale play production, major investments have been made to expand and build petroleum crackers, which come online in 2016 to 2022 (See a backgrounder on crackers if needed or wanted). The midstream sector has risen to the occasion by building out pipeline and fractionator capacity in Gulf and East Coast demand centers.
