The Permian basin continues to add new oil production, but shale drillers in West Texas could face an unexpected problem: too much natural gas.
Natural gas is produced as a byproduct when drilling for oil. Oil tends to be more lucrative, so shale companies typically target oil in places like the Permian, and the gas is considered an added benefit. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that shale drillers in the Permian are struggling with too much gas and not enough places to put it.
The gas pipelines from the West Texas shale fields are at capacity. To the north, the market is saturated with gas from the Rockies and Canada, the WSJ says. And while there are several natural gas pipelines under construction that would carry gas from Texas to Mexico, those projects are not yet online. One key pipeline, the Gulf Coast Express, won’t come online until 2019, and several other projects have similar timelines.
No comments:
Post a Comment