Frac Spread: Ethane Rallies In A Rocky Stretch

Ethane at Mont Belvieu, Texas, extended its rally to three weeks, with a near-tripling of last week’s margin.

As turnarounds go, this could easily be filed under “meh.” At a smidgen above 14 cents per gallon (gal), last week’s ethane price is still less than half of the year-ago mark. And the 199% one-week increase in margin still leaves it at well below 2 cents/gal. The year-ago spread was 11.11 cents/gal.

But with the global death toll from the COVID-19 illness exceeding 2,000 and the economic damage still just a guess, even a small uptick offers comfort, especially with the price languishing for 22 consecutive weeks below 20 cents/gal.

In the Rockies, not all issues involve making nice with regulators, as discussed at Hart Energy’s DUG Bakken and Rockies Conference & Exhibition. NGL production is expected to grow from year-end 2019 to year-end 2024, Enverus said in a report on Feb. 19. Most of that growth is expected to come from the Denver-Julesburg (D-J) Basin.