RBN Energy
Oxygen-containing gasoline additives called oxygenates, including ethanol, have provided an octane boost to the U.S. gasoline pool since 2000. This has allowed refineries to reduce the octane of refinery-produced gasoline, which increases their gasoline production capacity and efficiency while simultaneously helping achieve the goals for cleaner, lower-carbon fuels derived from domestic renewable feedstocks. A new approach to gasoline formulation promises to take this “sharing” of the octane load much further to exploit the unique octane-enhancing qualities of ethanol, although there are some real-world challenges to wider implementation. In today’s RBN blog, we explain what’s behind the concept of “hydrogen-rich” gasoline.
Analyst Insights
Analyst Insights are unique perspectives provided by RBN analysts about energy markets developments. The Insights may cover a wide range of information, such as industry trends, fundamentals, competitive landscape, or other market rumblings. These Insights are designed to be bite-size but punchy analysis so that readers can stay abreast of the most important market changes.
US oil and gas rig count was unchanged for the second consecutive week, maintaining 585 rigs for the week ending November 1 according to Baker Hughes.
One of the mysteries of the 2024 propane market has been the shift upward in weekly production seen in late-April (Blue line in chart below) which was followed by a 14-week steady decline in production. We've been asked about it by clients of our Weekly Propane Billboard but have never had a cle
Recently Published Reports
Report | Title | Published |
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TradeView Daily Data | TradeView Daily Data - November 1, 2024 | 17 hours 5 min ago |
NATGAS Billboard | NATGAS Billboard - November 1, 2024 | 1 day 37 min ago |
Chart Toppers | Chart Toppers - November 1, 2024 | 1 day 2 hours ago |
TradeView Daily Data | TradeView Daily Data - October 31, 2024 | 1 day 16 hours ago |
NATGAS Billboard | NATGAS Billboard - October 31, 2024 | 1 day 23 hours ago |
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Daily Energy Blog
For natural gas markets to operate as efficiently as possible, a lot of data is needed, including up-to-date estimates of the amount of gas in storage and the physical capacity to hold it. For too long, Canadian natural gas markets have been operating with an obvious blind spot: little to no reliable storage data. With Alberta being home to the largest amount of gas storage capacity in Canada, having accurate information could provide vital data in the pricing of Canadian natural gas. In today’s RBN blog, we begin a multi-part series examining Canadian natural gas storage, starting with Alberta.
Many of the natural gas storage projects under development along the Gulf Coast involve the expansion of existing salt-cavern complexes and, with that, the sharing of at least some already-built infrastructure. That typically saves money, and the lower capital costs can help make a project a “go.” But at least a few well-sited projects competing for commitments are greenfield in nature and require not just the buildout of storage capacity itself but also the development of compression, freshwater wells, saltwater disposal wells, electricity supply, header pipelines and pipeline interconnections. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss two of the largest greenfield projects in the works: the Black Bayou Energy Hub in southwestern Louisiana and the Freeport Energy Storage Hub (FRESH).
As a group, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have more than 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity, most of it along — or within easy reach of — the Gulf Coast, with its long-and-growing list of LNG export terminals as well as gas-consuming industries and gas-fired power plants. That’s a good thing, but still more gas storage will be needed to help ensure there is sufficient gas in hand to meet the region’s rising — and increasingly volatile — requirements. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll continue our review of Gulf Coast storage projects with a look at plans by Trinity Gas Storage and Caliche Storage.
British Columbia’s portion of the immense unconventional Montney formation has been the epicenter of Western Canada’s rapidly rising natural gas production in recent years. It should come as no surprise then that it has also become fertile ground for numerous acquisitions of companies — or some portion of their assets — by more nimble and financially stronger gas producers. However, as we discuss in today’s RBN blog, the most recent acquisition by Canada’s largest natural gas producer, Tourmaline Oil Corp., leaves the list of potential targets shockingly short.
Very little new natural gas storage capacity has been built along the Gulf Coast the past few years, but that’s changing. Driven by rising demand from power generators, LNG operators/offtakers, marketers and traders for storage with high deliverability rates — and by improving storage economics — new salt-cavern and depleted-reservoir capacity is now being developed by midstream players large and small, with plans for a lot more. In today’s RBN blog, we‘ll continue our review of gas storage projects in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi with a look at what Kinder Morgan, EnLink Midstream and Enstor Gas have been up to.
The summer of 2024 proved somewhat melancholy for natural gas bulls, but also for bears, as front-month futures have consistently sported a $2 handle on the vast majority of trading days. What happened to the dire predictions of oversupply heard this past winter? And what about the bullish swing that took over the market in early June? Developments in production and weather have ameliorated both concerns but new issues may cause volatility to return in the near future. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll detail what happened during this summer’s gas market and what current trends portend for the fall and winter.
Natural gas futures contracts can be highly liquid and trade at high volumes, with prices constantly moving as new information arrives. But some contracts are far less liquid, so when a swing occurs it tends to last — and attract attention. That’s been the case this year for some prices on Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCO) in Louisiana. Starting in the spring, TETCO’s East and West Louisiana zones have seen unusually elevated prices for the 2026-29 time frame, a result of the East zone’s transition into a demand hub. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss what is driving prices to historic premiums — and why they aren’t likely to become the new normal.
Fast-changing dynamics in Gulf Coast natural gas, electricity and LNG export markets are increasing the value of gas storage in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — or, more specifically, the merit of quickly injecting and withdrawing gas to respond to market swings. As a result, interest in developing gas storage projects with high “deliverability" rates has taken off, with billions of cubic feet of new storage capacity already coming online and a lot more in the works. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll begin a look at why so many market participants — power generators, LNG operators/offtakers, midstreamers, marketers and traders — are chasing the “extrinsic” value of gas storage and where the new storage projects are being built.
In just a few years’ time, the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas has become an increasingly busy, complex and important crossroads for natural gas pipelines. Every day, more than 7.5 Bcf of gas flows through the hub’s inbound and outbound pipes, linking Permian and Eagle Ford supplies to gas demand centers along the Texas coast and in Mexico — LNG export terminals, power generators and industrial, commercial and residential customers. And if you think Agua Dulce is big now, just wait. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our in-depth look at Agua Dulce with an analysis of the growing gas volumes into and out of the hub, the pipelines handling those flows, and the key sources of incremental demand.
Enterprise Products Partners, already a leading provider of “well-to-water” or “well-to-market” midstream services out of the Permian, recently announced a deal to acquire private-equity-backed Piñon Midstream for $950 million in cash. But this isn’t just another bolt-on. Over the past few years, Piñon has been building out its one-of-a-kind Dark Horse system, which gathers and treats “sour” associated gas in a highly prolific, crude-oil-saturated part of the northern Delaware Basin and permanently sequesters the resulting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the impending Enterprise/Piñon acquisition, what Dark Horse does and how it gives Enterprise access to what may be the next hot production area in the Permian.
Utilities in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, all anticipating rapid growth in electricity demand through the 2030s, have ambitious plans for renewables but are acknowledging that solar and offshore wind will need to be backed up by a lot more natural gas-fired generation. Fortunately, the new Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and planned expansions to it and the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) system are providing utilities in the three-state region with enhanced access to Marcellus/Utica-sourced natural gas, albeit at premium prices to gas users closer to that production. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our look at rising demand for electricity and gas in Virginia and the Carolinas with a review of what the largest utilities there are planning.
The Permian needs more gas gathering and processing capacity pronto to support the expansion of crude-oil-focused drilling, and one of the Permian’s last privately held midstream companies is stepping up in a big way with the buildout of an entirely new — and very expandable — network in the Midland Basin. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the impending startup of a new Brazos Midstream processing plant in Martin County, its plans for another Midland-area plant and the company’s already expansive midstream holdings in the Delaware Basin. As you’ll see, Brazos’s strategy echoes that of a well-known predecessor.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and planned expansions to it and the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) system are providing utilities, data centers and others in Virginia and the Carolinas with enhanced access to Marcellus/Utica-sourced natural gas — and man, will they need it! Plans for new generating capacity between Washington, DC and the South Carolina/Georgia state line are proliferating, and the increasing ability to move large volumes of gas south on MVP and Transco will give producers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio an important incremental outlet for their gas well into the 2030s. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the boom in power demand in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and the very timely expansion of gas-pipeline access to three states.
The 1,413-MW Mystic Generating Station, a longtime workhorse for New England, shut its doors for good May 31. Located in Charlestown, MA, on the north side of Boston, Mystic is adjacent to the Everett LNG terminal, which supplied 100% of Mystic’s natural gas for several decades. The power plant’s closure meant the Everett terminal might also be history. However, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recently approved new contracts that will keep Everett LNG open for at least six more years. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll discuss the combined impact of Mystic’s demise and Everett’s stay of execution, how the region has handled this summer’s heat wave, and what could be in store for next winter.
Even as many countries and companies around the world continue to ramp up their use of wind and solar power and explore the potential for a variety of renewable, low-carbon and no-carbon fuels, there’s a growing acknowledgment that natural gas — imperfect as it may be from a climate perspective — will remain a significant part of the global energy mix for decades to come. So why not make natural gas as clean as it can be by reducing emissions of methane — gas’s primary component and a particularly potent greenhouse gas? That’s the driver behind the certified gas movement, the focus of a new Drill Down Report that we discuss in today’s RBN blog.