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Magellan Reported Volume Changes on Its LongHorn and BridgeTex Pipelines
08/15/2022
According to a July 28 report, Magellan Midstream Partners LP marked that the volumes in the last quarter on the Longhorn and BridgeTex pipelines that carry crude from the Permian Basin to Houston dropped dramatically since shippers likely exported barrels, meanwhile, refined product volumes grew on pandemic demand recovery.
After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, Europe's request for barrels increased and shippers on the long-haul crude oil lines took volumes elsewhere, likely to be exported from the main port for oil exports – Corpus Christi, Texas, which is the largest U.S. crude export port.
Being an example of potential decisions that U.S. shippers could be making the moves are expected to be temporary. Shippers that did not fulfill their obligations would still have income which is known as deficiency payments, which are actually penalties for not transporting oil.
Volumes on the 450-mile (724-km) Magellan’s wholly-owned Longhorn crude oil pipeline from West Texas to Houston averaged approximately 200,000 bbl/d in the three months ended June 30 in contrast with 260,000 bbl/d in the same period the year before.
A joint venture, the BridgeTex crude pipeline from the Permian to Magellan’s East Houston terminal dropped to 215,000 bbl/d from virtually 315,000 bbl/d in the year-ago period.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based company expects relatively flat volumes for a few years on the Longhorn and the Bridgetex crude pipelines.
Meanwhile, on the Saddlehorn pipeline in Colorado, another joint venture, volumes were almost the same, and levels on the company’s South Texas systems rose.
However, volumes on the most prominent common carrier refined products pipeline system in the U.S. increased 3% partly because of pandemic demand recovery.
Income from oil storage plunged as a steeply risen-in-price market made holding barrels less attractive and following contract expirations while operating expenses grew $28 million.
Magellan is an important owner of tanks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub, where levels have held almost above the operational lows of 20 million barrels in recent weeks. Magellan has a 9,800-mile refined products pipeline system with 54 connected terminals and two marine storage terminals (one of which is owned through a joint venture). Moreover, it owns about 2,200 miles of crude oil pipelines, a condensate splitter and storage facilities with an aggregate storage capacity of about 39 million barrels, of which 29 million are used for contract storage. Approximately 1,000 miles of these pipelines, the condensate splitter and 31 million barrels of this storage capacity (including 25 million barrels used for contract storage) are wholly-owned, and the remainder is owned through joint ventures.
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Potential Deal for $5 Billion: Tug Hill and Quantum Energy Seek Sale
Undisclosed industry sources said that THQ Appalachia I LLC (Tug Hill and Quantum Energy) is seeking a sale of the U.S. natural gas producer for more than $5 billion, including debt. Mainly operating in the Marshall and Wetzel counties in West Virginia, THQ Appalachia has net production of around 760 MMcf/d. Despite volatility in commodity markets which has made the valuation of energy producers tougher, THQ Appalachia is anticipating more than $5 billion due to the worth of its existing production and the possible value of its undeveloped acreage, the sources said on June 17. Additionally to purchasing THQ Appalachia, possible bidders in the sale process also have the opportunity to buy XcL Midstream, the pipeline firm that moves the company’s gas to market and has the same CEO as in Tug Hill. If the same buyer chooses to purchase XcL, the deal consideration will increase further. However, the anonymous sources admitted that the sale depends on the market conditions and is not guaranteed since Tug Hill and Quantum could ultimately decide to retain some or all of THQ Appalachia and XcL’s assets. Tug Hill and Quantum refused to comment on these statements and XcL did not respond to a comment request.
Growing Export of US Crude Oil Is Expected to Set Record This Quarter
On 27 June, the analysts at Kpler spread the word that the exports of crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast could break a record 3.3 MMbbl/d this quarter as Europe has regard to U.S. crude which can outweigh sanctioned Russian oil. Due to Washington's decision to release 180 MMbbl of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, U.S. exports have increased in the last three months, as it has flooded the domestic market. Exports to Europe are anticipated averaging approximately 1.4 MMbbl/d this quarter, about 30% higher than the year-ago quarter, meanwhile, export to Asia is set to decrease to less than 1 MMbbl/d. Despite that the U.S. has lost about 1 MMbbl/d of refining capacity since 2020, it also boosted exports thanks to the government’s intervention to back crude supplies which has had consequences in growth in exports. Throughput via the Port of Corpus Christi has grown by more than 150,000 bbl/d and has become 1.86 MMbbl/d. Nevertheless, Port of Houston exports also have been increasing since the third quarter of last year, they remain below pre-pandemic levels.
The Haynesville Shale play, located in northwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas, was recognized in March 2008. Petrohawk Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. had leased acreages in Louisiana, bringing fame to the region. The Haynesville Shale is crucial for meeting the rising demand for LNG exports from the Gulf Coast because of its location. It's expected that Haynesville will contribute about 13 Bcf/d to the overall growth in U.S. gas demand by 2030. However, drilling in Haynesville is more expensive and challenging due to the depth of its wells, especially when compared to areas like the Marcellus Shale.
Crude oil prices are on the verge of a significant rise, as per Helima Croft, a top commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets. She highlights a looming shift in the oil market's supply-demand dynamics, forecasting a potential slowdown in global crude production. This slowdown might push Brent crude prices to $85 in the latter half of 2024.
In January 2024, the United States saw a mix of ups and downs in the number of active drilling rigs across its major oil shale regions and states. Starting with the shale regions, the Permian Basin led with a slight increase, reaching 310 rigs, which is 3 more than in December. The Eagle Ford in East Texas held steady with 54 rigs, unchanged from the previous month. Meanwhile, both the Haynesville and Anadarko regions saw a decrease by 2 rigs each, landing at 42 rigs. The Niobrara faced a larger drop, losing 4 rigs to settle at 27. On a brighter note, the Williston Basin and the Appalachian region saw increases of 2 and 1 rigs, respectively, resulting in counts of 34 and 41 rigs.