Most Popular Blogs of 2025

The midstreamers that built out and/or acquired the sour gas treatment facilities, acid gas injection wells and other assets E&Ps need to exploit the Northern Delaware Basin’s crude-oil-saturated rock are sittin’ pretty. Put simply, they anticipated what is now a race to “Drill, baby, drill!” in Lea County, NM, where the IP rates for crude are high but so are the H2S and CO2 content in the associated gas. In today’s RBN blog, we look at Targa’s, Enterprise’s and MPLX’s sour-gas-related assets.

Although Labor Day has passed, most of the country is still enjoying balmy and relatively tranquil weather as we approach the onset of fall. However, a decline in crude oil prices since a mid-June peak has induced a profound chill in the boardrooms of oil and gas producers. Investors are becoming increasingly nervous as the crude spot price approaches $60/bbl, a widely accepted inflection point that, if breached, could threaten the post-pandemic financial stability the industry has enjoyed. In today’s RBN blog, we review the midyear adjustments to 2025 capital budgets and explore investment trends that could impact future production and results. 

Midstreamers developing natural gas takeaway capacity out of the Permian have understandably focused on pipelines to the Gulf Coast — and along the coast to LNG export terminals and other big gas consumers. But don’t forget the Desert Southwest, where demand for gas-fired power is soaring. Energy Transfer recently committed to building a 516-mile, 1.5-Bcf/d expansion to its Transwestern Pipeline system from West Texas to the Phoenix area, and hinted that it might double the project’s capacity due to the high level of interest. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss Energy Transfer’s aptly named Desert Southwest Project, what drove its quick progress to a final investment decision (FID), and what other westbound projects out of the Permian might still happen. 

Crude oil production in the Permian may or may not have peaked — that’s TBD. What we do know is that even if the shale play’s oil output flatlines, the Permian will generate increasing volumes of natural gas (and NGLs) and virtually all of it will need to be piped to other markets, primarily the Gulf Coast to feed existing and planned LNG export terminals, gas-fired power plants and other large consumers. To keep pace with that undeniable need for more Permian-to-Gulf takeaway capacity, WhiteWater has announced plans, through its Matterhorn joint venture (JV), for yet another mountain-themed gas conduit to the coast. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss WhiteWater’s newly unveiled Eiger Express Pipeline. 

In the U.S., crude oil trading hubs like Houston, Midland and Cushing get the lion’s share of the market’s attention. But travel a bit further north and you can find one of the more unusual and liquid crude markets in the country — Guernsey, WY — a focal point for producers in Western Canada, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Over the last few months, Guernsey differentials have tightened significantly, finally flipping to a premium to Cushing. We have seen this phenomenon occur before, most notably seven years ago after the startup of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the recent movement in Guernsey differentials and what the future could hold for the often-overlooked sales point. 

A crude oil leak last Tuesday at the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal disrupted regional flows and caused crude differentials to move higher over the course of the week. While the spill was swiftly addressed by terminal owner Enterprise Products Partners, it still affected inbound and outbound operations for a few days. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the role of the ECHO terminal and show how even an isolated incident can quickly have an impact on the market. 

A few months ago, Enbridge unveiled its plans to expand its massive Mainline and smaller Express/Platte crude oil pipeline systems into the U.S. Midwest/Great Plains. We blogged about those plans, and followed up with a look at how the incremental volumes of Western Canadian crude on the Mainline and Express/Platte might move south from PADD 2 to where they’re wanted most: the Gulf Coast. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss efforts to piece together a more direct pipeline route from Alberta to Cushing and on to the Texas/Louisiana coast. 

Data centers are a buzzy topic in the energy industry, and while there is still a lot of fuzziness about what will actually get built and how much natural-gas-fired power will be needed to support these projects, there’s no doubt that major technology companies are well along in planning a number of massive data centers across the country. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll offer a snapshot of the plans announced by tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook). 

The San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado has seen more than its share of booms and busts in the last 100-plus years. During the Shale Era, natural gas production in the 7,500-square-mile basin has been slowly declining, undercut by competition from more prolific, better-situated wells in the Permian and Eagle Ford. But a small band of “San Juan believers” think the region is poised for yet another rebound, this time due to what they view as massive, untapped potential in the basin’s Mancos Shale. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss recent developments in the San Juan — and the basin’s extensive pipeline infrastructure. 

Western Canadian crude oil production is rising fast. To keep pace, Enbridge is planning expansions to its pipelines into the Midwest and Great Plains. But PADD 2 refineries are maxed out on heavy crude, so virtually all those incremental barrels will need to keep flowing south to refineries and export terminals along the Gulf Coast. Can the pipelines from PADD 2 to PADD 3 handle the higher volumes? In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the knock-on effects of rising Western Canadian production and Enbridge’s pipeline expansions.