Matterhorn Express pipeline begins operations, boosting Waha gas prices
The much-anticipated Matterhorn Express officially began flowing gas on Oct. 1 as it moves natural gas from the Waha hub in Reeves County to Katy, outside of Houston.
"We saw flows around a combined 320 million cubic feet per day on new interconnects to Enbridge's Texas Eastern Transmission system and Williams' Transcontinental Gas Pipeline in southeastern Texas," Ian Heming with East Daley Analytics told the Reporter-Telegram. He said Natural Gas Pipeline of America has added a Matterhorn receipt point near Katy but has not yet flowed any gas.
"We're expecting flows to ramp consistently in the coming months as Matterhorn continues coming online," Heming said.
East Daley already has seen Matterhorn impact natural gas prices. Heming wrote that prices at the Waha hub have jumped sizably, from in the teens to over 60 cents at mid-week. He predicted Waha prices would continue to increase as Matterhorn deliveries ramp up over the next few weeks.
Operated by WhiteWater Midstream, the new 42-inch pipeline runs about 580 miles from the Waha hub in West Texas to Katy. Permian gas prices have frequently traded negative since August as egress pipes filled and Kinder Morgan conducted extended maintenance work on the El Paso system.
East Daley expects oil and gas supply growth to pick up in the Permian following the start of Matterhorn. Permian gas production is on pace to grow 1.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2024 and oil production to grow 150,000 barrels per day to 6.25 million barrels a day by the end of the year, according to the company's latest supply forecasts.
Natural gas liquids production is also expected to grow, though East Daley analysts see some tradeoffs for ethane. Leading Permian producers such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Matador Resources and Vital Energy also have guided to production growth into the fourth quarter, supporting East Daley's outlook.
This story was originally published October 5, 2024, 11:48 AM.
