Permian Growth Is Reaching Its Limits
The Permian isn’t just suffering from a bottleneck for oil, but also for natural gas.
In 2016, for instance, gas flows leaving the Permian typically clocked in at about 3.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to S&P Global Platts. That number has ballooned to 6.3 Bcf/d as of May 2018.
Obviously, the surge in gas flows from the Permian is the result of a massive increase in gas production. Gas output has surged more than 135 percent since 2013 and is expected to rise to just shy of 10.5 Bcf/d (including natural gas liquids) in June 2018. The problem is that the region’s ceiling on takeaway capacity stands at about 7.3 Bcf/d.
Skyrocketing natural gas production has unsurprisingly weighed on regional prices. According to S&P Global Platts, natural gas prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas traded at an 8-cent per MMBtu discount to Henry Hub two years ago, but that discount widened to about $1/MMBtu this month.
With so much gas on their hands, Permian drillers have resorted to higher rates of flaring. The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that top Permian producers are flaring as much as 10 percent of their gas. “This flaring is so extreme, it can be seen from space,” EDF says. “In 2015 alone, enough Texas Permian natural gas was flared to serve all of the Texas household needs in the Permian counties for two and a half years.”
S&P Global Platts reported that gas flows to Mexico have increased over the past few weeks, relieving some pressure. But infrastructure within Mexico hasn’t been able to keep up with the supply of gas north of the border, so some of the pipelines are under-utilized. In any event, the gas volumes moving to Mexico will be swamped by new supply coming online in the Permian. At some point, the glut of gas could force curtailments in drilling.
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