NGL MARKET RECAP
| December 11, 2013
December 11, 2013
Propane: US propane inventories fell by -1.7m bbl to 52.6m bbl for the week ended December 6, 2013, which is -10.6m bbl below the five-year average. PADD 3 inventories increased for the first time in 12 weeks, adding a scant +100k bbl to stand at 28.3m bbl. PADD 2 stocks drew -1.5m bbl to 17m bbl reflecting heightened demand for the heating fuel, similar to PADD 1, where stocks declined by -189k bbl to 4.5m bbl. Implied demand decreased -7% to 1.56 mb/d; imports increased by +6% to 133 k.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| December 04, 2013
December 4, 2013
Propane: US propane inventories fell by -2.7m bbl to 54.3m bbl for the week ended November 29, 2013, which is -9.8m bbl below the five-year average. PADD 3 inventories fell to their lowest levels since the end of May, and currently stand at 28.2m bbl. PADD 2 stocks drew -0.4m bbl while PADD 1 stocks posted a small gain. Implied demand increased +10.4% to 1.68 mb/d; imports were down by -6.0% to 126 kb/d and production was slightly lower at 1.46 mb/d last week.
NGL MARKET RECAP
| November 27, 2013
November 27, 2013
Propane: US propane inventories fell by -1.4m bbl to 56.9m bbl for the week ended November 22, 2013, which is -7.2m bbl below the five-year average. PADD 3 inventories fell for the ninth consecutive week, this time by -0.8m bbl and PADD 2 stocks by -0.6m bbl. Implied demand decreased -8.8% to 1.52 mb/d; imports jumped +9.8% to 134 kb/d and production was slightly higher at 1.47 mb/d last week.
NGL MARKET RECAP
| November 20, 2013
November 20, 2013
In Focus: Louisiana ethane demand With 26% of US ethylene capacity located in Louisiana and with multiple plant conversions and expansions under construction for 2015 completion, local ethane demand is seen increasing by 230 kb/d over the next two years. A new, world-scale cracker to be built by Sasol at Lake Charles in 2017 would add 95 kb/d of incremental ethane demand. The Louisiana market as a whole is short around 200 kb/d of “native” ethane and short another 300 kb/d of other NGLs, accor.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| November 14, 2013
November 14, 2013
In place of this week’s commentary we have included additional charts that expand our analysis of US propane inventories. These will be included on a monthly basis.
NGL MARKET RECAP
| November 06, 2013
November 1, 2013
In Focus: Gulf coast fractionation expansions Nearly 250 kb/d of fractionation capacity has come online at Mont Belvieu since September, including Enterprise’s train 7, Oneok’s MB-2, and recently a second Lone Star train. Enterprise hopes to bring an eighth, 100 kb/d train online before the end of the year. Through 2015, another 445 kb/d of fractionation capacity is expected to be built at Mont Belvieu that will work to process the influx of y-grade coming in from as far away as the Bakken a.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| October 30, 2013
October 30, 2013
In Focus: Northeast Processing and Blending update With MarkWest’s 320 mmcf/d Mobley plant in Wetzel County, Ohio, back in service this month after an outage in August, additional processing capacity in the region will come online by the end of the year, presenting producers with challenges and opportunities to meet residue pipeline specifications while maximizing gas and NGL output. The first 200 mmcf/d train at MarkWest’s Seneca facility in Noble County, Ohio, is just about one week away.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| October 23, 2013
October 23, 2013
In Focus: heavies exports to Canada In July, 92% of all US natural gasoline exports went to Canada, which was nearly 60% of total US gas plant production. Natural gasoline is the most valuable NGL and is used as a diluent to lower the viscosity of Canadian bitumen, allowing it to flow in pipelines. This export market is critical for gas producers who not only rely on the strength of the heavy portion of the NGL barrel for profitable fractionation spreads, but who also face declining domest.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| October 17, 2013
October 17, 2013
In Focus: Ethane dilemma With Mariner West already undergoing line-fill, and with ATEX set to join as early as the end of the year, the ethane take-away dilemma for Marcellus and Utica producers is close to resolution. But on the ground, midstream companies continue to develop their operational flexibility and integrity, and ethane remains a concern for both dry gas and NGL production. MarkWest’s footprint in the region is a good example of the increasing complexity: every gas plant (excep.....
NGL MARKET RECAP
| October 09, 2013
October 4, 2013
Please find attached this week’s NGL Market Recap, which provides an overview of the US natural gas liquids ( NGL ) market through news and analysis, propane statistics and price relationships. In Focus: Propane for heat As winter approaches, propane as a heating fuel returns to the fore. Although only about 5% of US households use propane as a primary heating fuel, nearly 40% of all residential propane demand is located in the Midwest. Those consumers are facing a very different set of ma.....