Midstream Caught In Middle Of Permian Producer Split
Summary
- Public and private producers are parting ways in the Permian Basin.
- Led by Exxon Mobil, public companies have been steadily adding rigs in.
- The divergence in upstream behavior is affecting individual G&P systems and, depending on the producer clientele served, creating some winners and losers in the midstream space.
Joe Raedle
Public and private producers are parting ways on investments in the Permian Basin in 2023, with public companies on balance adding rigs as privately backed E&Ps have pulled back. The split is affecting activity on some G&P systems and creating winners and losers in the midstream space.
The Permian Basin rig count has increased by 2% (+8 rigs) year to date, totaling 338 rigs for the March 10 week vs 330 rigs at the end of 2022, according to Blackbird BI data. However, behind the modest overall growth is a more dramatic shift in commitments by public and private operators.
The most drastic change has occurred in the Delaware sub-basin in West Texas and New Mexico. Public operators have added a net 16 rigs in 2023, growing from 100 to 116 rigs (+16%) in the Delaware through the latest March 10 count. Exxon Mobil (XOM; +4), Apache (APA; +3), ConocoPhillips (COP; +3), BP (BP; +3) and Permian Resources (PR; +3) have been among the most aggressive producers in ramping Delaware drilling programs this year.
At the same time, private E&Ps have dropped 5 rigs from the Delaware through early March. On the private side, we have seen rig reductions from BTA (-1), Upcurve (-1), and Iskandia Energy (-1), according to Blackbird BI data.
The same public/private divergence is apparent in the Midland sub-basin, where public producers have added 3 rigs in 2023 while their private counterparts have dropped 6 rigs. Overall, the number of rigs in the Permian used by private drillers has declined by 7%, from 162 to 151 rigs through March 10.
Midstream systems in the Permian are seeing the impacts of the rig shuffling, depending on the producer clientele they serve.
The G&P systems benefiting the most from the recent rig shifts in the Delaware include Enterprise Products (EPD; +6) Targa Resources' (TRGP) Lucid S. Carlsbad (+4), DCP Midstream (DCP; +4), Brazos Midstream (+4) and EnLink Midstream (ENLC; +4). Conversely, Kinetik (KNTK; -3), Energy Transfer (ET; -4) and TRGP's Delaware system (-4) have seen drilling activity ease due primarily to the loss of private rigs.
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Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.