Takeaway

As pipelines scurry to develop takeaway capacity from the oversupplied Marcellus/Utica shale region, a Morningstar Commodities Research analyst said the consequences of development will be both bullish and bearish for prices, depending upon where one’s gas lands.

Two projects scheduled to begin initial service by the end of September could increase natural gas takeaway capacity in the Marcellus Shale by a combined 0.5 Bcf/d, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) is working to remake itself for the shale gas world — to become an east-to-west shale gas expressway — but legacy shippers are balking.

Sunoco Logistics Partners’ Sunoco Pipeline is holding a binding open season for its Granite Wash Extension pipeline to provide crude oil takeaway capacity for growing production from the Granite Wash Shale in the northeastern Texas Panhandle and portions of western Oklahoma. The pipeline would originate in Wheeler County, TX, and terminate in Ringgold, TX, where it would interconnect with an existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline with the ability to provide transportation to Corsicana, TX. From Corsicana, access to multiple Sunoco Logistics and third-party pipelines would provide producers the ability to reach various markets and refineries on the Gulf Coast and in the Midcontinent. The partnership would lay 200 miles of new pipeline and construct pump stations, tankage and truck unloading facilities. The Granite Wash Extension is anticipated to have an initial capacity of 70,000 b/d to Ringgold and is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Regional natural gas liquids (NGL) differentials will collapse over the next two years as new NGL pipelines create excess takeaway capacity out of all major basins (except the Marcellus Shale) into Mont Belvieu, TX, according to analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

Regional natural gas liquids (NGL) differentials will collapse over the next two years as new NGL pipelines create excess takeaway capacity out of all major basins (except the Marcellus Shale) into Mont Belvieu, TX, according to analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

A poll shows a majority of Ohio voters support new severance taxes on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and natural gas liquids (NGL), especially if the revenue raised is used to cut state income taxes, an idea proposed by Gov. John Kasich.

For Marcellus Shale producers, the gift-receiving season began last week and continues through the end of the year in the form of additional pipeline takeaway capacity. Multiple projects are slated to come online by the end of the year, giving Marcellus producers increased access to markets, and presumably better prices for their gas.

The railroad transportation of Bakken oil supplies continues to grow, and transporters are investing in new facilities on a pace with pipeline takeaway growth, according to the latest statistics from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the state pipeline authority.