LNG

April 12 (LNGJ) - Texas, one of the main hubs of future US LNG exports from around the Gulf Coast ports such as Freeport, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur and Brownsville, saw monthly natural gas output increase 3 percent year-on-year in February to nearly 638.5 billion cubic feet, according to the Texas Petro Index report from economist Karr Ingham. “With natural gas prices in February averaging $2.67 per 1,000 feet (Mcf), the value of Texas-produced gas increased about 40 percent to more than $2.34 billion,” said the report. The Baker Hughes count of active drilling rigs in Texas averaged 476 units, 28.6 percent more than in the same month of 2017. “An estimated average of 215,500 Texans remained on upstream oil and gas industry payrolls, about 13.8 percent more than the revised average of 189,400 in February 2017,” it added.

Aug 24 (LNGJ) – The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers said natural gas prices in July averaged $2.84 per thousand feet, increasing the value of Texas-produced gas by 2.3 percent to nearly $1.9 billion. Sizeable year-on-year improvements in the rig count, drilling permits and the value of Texas-produced crude oil and natural gas combined to push the Texas Petro Index up in July to 176.9, the eighth straight monthly increase. However, it is in oil where Texas and the US are excelling. “OPEC production curtailments did not achieve the desired price outcome,” said spokesman Karr Ingham. “Oil supplies remain plentiful because domestic producers are becoming increasingly efficient at producing crude oil at lower costs, so a $45 per barrel (US) oil market provides more incentive than in the past,” added Ingham, referring to the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US benchmark oil price.

The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, the largest in the US, said upstream oil and natural gas activity in the state had come to the end of “a punishing 24-month economic contraction”, adding momentum to the state’s extensive shale-gas plays and LNG developments.

Dec 5 (LNGJ) - The Texas Petro Index declined in October for the 23rd straight month, though just by 0.1 point to 149.1 as higher wellhead prices sparked more drilling and permitting activity, offsetting the effects of continuing oil and gas production declines. Feed-gas for future and current LNG exports come from Texas feed-gas among other sources. According to the TPI, natural gas prices in Texas this year through October were about 14.3 percent less on average than in the first 10 months of 2015. Prices in October averaged $2.91 per thousand cubic feet. Natural gas output in Texas during October was down about 8 percent compared with the same month in 2015, while gas production in Texas for the first 10 months was down about 6.5 percent compared with 2015. The posted price for West Texas Intermediate crude averaged $46.31 per barrel in October, the highest monthly average since July 2015.

Sept 7 (LNGJ) - The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers said the monthly upstream oil and gas employment figures have risen for the first time in 19 months. “The reversal of the employment-loss trend is an encouraging sign that the deep contraction in the Texas upstream oil and gas economy is in the process of coming to an end," said Karr Ingham, the economist who created and maintains the Texas Petro Index. Estimated Texas natural gas output was more than 708.9 billion cubic feet, a year-on-year monthly decline of about 5.2 percent. However, the number of active drilling rigs in Texas surpassed 200 units for the first time since March and the price of crude oil continued a four-month rally.

June 28 (LNGJ) - Estimated natural gas output in Texas in May was about 721.4 billion cubic feet, a year-over-year monthly decline of about 3.1 percent, according to the Texas Petro Index of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. Texas producers will be among the main feed-gas suppliers for LNG plants being built along the US Gulf Coast. The data also showed that Texas natural gas prices in May averaged $1.76 per thousand feet, a decline compared with the year-ago month of 37.5 percent and valuing the gas at $1.27 billion. The number of original drilling permits issued in Texas in May was 606, which was 33.8 percent fewer than the 916 permits issued in May 2015.

June 1 (LNGJ) - The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers said estimated natural gas output in the state last month was about 710.3 billion cubic feet, a decline of about 2.6 percent compared with the same month a year ago. With natural gas prices in April averaging $1.76 per thousand feet, the value of Texas-produced gas declined 31.2 percent to about $1.25 billion. However. according to the Texas Petro Index (TPI), crude oil prices could be leading the industry to recovery as West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude was last at $48.65 per barrel since falling to a low of $22.75 per barrel on February 11, 2016. “It appears increasingly likely that we have seen the bottom, and that is certainly cause for some celebration and cautious optimism about where we are headed at this point,” said Karr Ingham, the economist who created the TPI and updates it monthly.