Midcontinent

Energy-market risks abound. Israeli attacks on Iranian oil and gas infrastructure. The looming possibility of a global trade war. Up-and-down prices for WTI and Brent. Still, in the midst of all this doubt and instability, oil and gas producers continue to buy and sell major upstream assets in the U.S. — and gobble up entire companies — in ongoing efforts to grow their businesses, reshape their portfolios and/or reduce their debt. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our look at recent big-dollar deals in the U.S. oil and gas industry. 

While crude oil producers in the prolific Permian Basin are living out a Shale Revolution, the Midcontinent region of the U.S. is having a Refining Renaissance. Crude takeaway constraints, mainly due to insufficient pipeline capacity, are driving the prices of crude in Western Canada and West Texas to attractive lows against the WTI NYMEX benchmark for crude at the Cushing, OK, hub. Cheaper oil can contribute to bigger margins for refiners, who are supplying increasing volumes into a retail market that’s selling gasoline at the highest prices in four years. What will happen if the refiners don’t rein in their runs? Today, we’ll explore the implications of record-high run rates in the U.S. refining industry.

Cheniere Energy last Friday announced it has signed precedent agreements (firm capacity deals) with foundation shippers for its 1.4-Bcf/d Midship Pipeline project, which is targeted for an early 2019 in-service date. The announcement marks the latest milestone for midstream companies looking to move natural gas production from the SCOOP/STACK shale plays in central Oklahoma to growing demand markets in the Southeast and along the Texas Gulf Coast. Production from SCOOP and STACK grew by 1.0 Bcf/d, or 60%, in the past three years to 2.7 Bcf/d in 2016 and is expected to grow by another 1.5 Bcf/d by 2021. Besides Midship, there are other projects vying to move SCOOP/STACK gas to market. But how much capacity is really needed and by when? Today we look at the Midship project and its role in alleviating potential takeaway constraints.

<p>An average of 13 Bcf/d of natural gas flows into the Midwest from producing regions in Canada, the Midcontinent, the Southeast and the Rockies.</p>