Pipeline Balance Reversal Squeezes Differentials

摘要

The balance between crude production and pipeline takeaway capacity in several North American plays has Uipped, with recently completed midstream assets still signiOcantly underutilized in a dynamic that could keep price differentials tight. From the US Gulf Coast to Canada, the culmination of a massive pipeline buildout coincided with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on upstream activity. The result is surplus pipeline takeaway capacity, and that means far fewer bottlenecks and logistical hurdles. Prices in formerly constrained areas such as Midland, Texas and Hardisty, Alberta are climbing versus assessments closer to market in Houston and the like.