Executive Summary:
Infrastructure: ONEOK’s Elk Creek NGL pipeline posted a sharp increase in 2Q25 as Bakken producers boosted ethane recovery.
Exports: Total US NGL exports grew 3.5% W-o-W for the week ending Sept. 21.
Rigs: The total US rig count decreased during the week of Sept. 7 to 511. Liquids-driven basins decreased 6 rigs W-o-W from 407 to 401.
Flows: US natural gas volumes averaged 69.4 Bcf/d in pipeline samples for the week ending Sept. 21, up 0.2% W-o-W.
Infrastructure:
ONEOK’s (OKE) Elk Creek NGL pipeline posted a sharp jump in 2Q25 as Bakken producers boosted ethane recovery.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) filings show Elk Creek NGL volumes increased 64 Mb/d Q-o-Q, a gain far outpacing plant-level production growth. East Daley’s NGL plant data, available in Energy Data Studio, confirms Bakken NGL output rose 49 Mb/d (+11%), led by a 21% surge in ethane.
Accounting for the 49 Mb/d increase in plant production and a 14 Mb/d decline on OKE’s legacy Bakken line yields a gain of ~63 Mb/d, essentially matching Elk Creek’s uplift. The gain shows producers are reallocating barrels to Elk Creek, where OKE benefits from longer-haul tariffs and greater downstream flexibility.
The growth lever is ethane. East Daley’s Purity Product Forecast estimates ~223 Mb/d of Bakken ethane remains in rejection, providing ample runway to fill Elk Creek’s 135 Mb/d expansion. The ramp in 2Q25 appears to mark the first step in unlocking that pool.
Recovery should accelerate once OKE restarts the Medford fractionator in Conway, enabling more Bakken NGLs to move south on the underutilized Sterling system and ultimately to Mont Belvieu.
Investor Takeaway: Rising Bakken ethane recovery tightens Conway–Mont Belvieu flows, boosts Elk Creek utilization and strengthens OKE’s integrated margin capture. Track these dynamics in real time with East Daley’s NGL plant data in Energy Data Studio, and in our Purity Product Forecast.
Exports:
Total US NGL exports grew 3.5% W-o-W for the week ending September 21. LPG exports rose 9.8% W-o-W, led by ET Nederland with a 73.8% increase. Despite projections for a new monthly record, ethane exports declined 17.8% W-o-W.
Rigs:
The total US rig count decreased during the week of Sept. 7 to 511. Liquids-driven basins decreased 6 rigs W-o-W from 407 to 401.
Permian:
- Delaware (-2): Exxon, Devon Energy
- Midland (-3): Exxon, Diamondback Energy, Double Eagle
Powder River (-1): Occidental Petroleum
Anadarko (-1): Mewbourne Oil
Eagle Ford (+1): ConocoPhillips
Flows:
US natural gas volumes averaged 69.4 Bcf/d in pipeline samples for the week ending Sept. 21, up 0.2% W-o-W.
Major gas basin samples increased 0.5% W-o-W to 42.7 Bcf/d. The Haynesville sample increased 0.4% to 9.7 Bcf/d, and the Marcellus+Utica sample rose 0.5% to 32.0 Bcf/d.
Samples in liquids-focused basins declined 1.1% W-o-W to 18.8 Bcf/d. The Eagle Ford sample fell 4.6% to 1.6 Bcf/d, while the Bakken sample decreased 2.6%.
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