Oil price drop may boost gas supply if NGL, oil sands output declines

摘要

The plunge in petroleum prices below $60/barrel has the potential to boost gas supply as applications such as ethane stripping from natural gas liquids and gas-intensive Canadian oil sands mining become uneconomic, analysts said.The double-punch of hurricanes Gustav and Ike and an ailing global economy has cut into margins for NGL producers, according to Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. midstream analyst Becca Followill. She said a continued decline in NGL prices could ultimately result In more gas coming on stream in areas of the US already inundated with supply.