Infrastructure: Targa Resources appears to be laying the groundwork for another LPG export expansion on the Houston Ship Channel, potentially adding a new marine outlet beyond its already announced Galena Park expansion.
New Product: East Daley has added five new tabs to the NGL Purity Product Forecast, including prebuilt basin-level area charts, waterfall charts, annual exit and annual average tables, and a dedicated ethane rejection tab. Clients can access the updated Excel file here: https://portal.eastdaley.com/canvas/ngl-purity-product. For additional detail, see the section below or contact Julian or Sam using the contact information at the end of this newsletter.
Exports: NGL exports increased 4.9% W-o-W for the week ending Aug. 21. LPG exports drove the increase while ethane shipments decreased.
Rigs: The total US rig count decreased to 601 the week of Aug. 22. Liquids-driven basins decreased to 462, down 2 rigs W-o-W.
Infrastructure:
Targa Resources (TRGP) appears to be laying the groundwork for another LPG export expansion on the Houston Ship Channel, potentially adding a new marine outlet beyond its already announced Galena Park expansion.
In an August filing with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Targa has requested approval to develop the Patriot Terminal, a 16.6-acre site near its Galena Park Marine Terminal (see map below). Plans include ~1,215 feet of new bulkhead, a new ship dock, a separate barge dock, pipe racks and associated infrastructure. The ship dock would accommodate a vessel up to 750 feet long, while the barge dock could handle two 300-foot barges.
The filing does not identify a specific product, describing Patriot broadly as a facility designed to load, transport and export petroleum and petroleum products supplied from pipelines and storage facilities into domestic and international markets.
However, Targa’s history with Patriot strongly points toward LPG. When TRGP acquired the property in 2013, the company highlighted its potential to support additional propane and butane exports. Targa also said Patriot could be readily connected to Galena Park and its Mont Belvieu complex, including the Cedar Bayou fractionator, making the site complementary to its existing propane and butane export business.
That connection is important, since Patriot wouldn’t need to operate as a standalone terminal. Targa’s Mont Belvieu fractionation system is already integrated with its Gulf Coast storage, terminaling and delivery infrastructure, including its LPG export terminal at Galena Park. Patriot could therefore provide another waterfront outlet tied directly into the same system that fractionates, stores and moves propane and butane through Mont Belvieu.
Targa is already expanding Galena Park from ~14 MMbbl per month of effective LPG export capacity to as much as 19 MMbbl per month by 3Q27. That expansion includes additional refrigeration and a new pipeline from Mont Belvieu to Galena Park. Patriot appears to represent a separate expansion opportunity beyond that project.
The dock configuration also adds flexibility. A large ship berth supports international exports, while dedicated barge capacity could facilitate smaller Gulf Coast and domestic movements.
Patriot could create another Houston Ship Channel outlet tied into Targa’s Mont Belvieu and Cedar Bayou fractionation system, extending an already integrated path from NGL supply to the export dock.
New Product:
East Daley has added five new tabs to the NGL Purity Product Forecast, our NGL production model, making it easier to analyze historical trends and forecasted changes across the US, PADDs, basins and sub-basins. The new tabs include:
- Ethane Rejection: A prebuilt workflow showing historical and forecasted ethane rejection across the Lower 48.
- Area Charts: Prebuilt charts showing purity product production and ethane recovery vs rejection. Views are available for the total US, PADD, basin and sub-basin levels.
- Waterfall Charts: Prebuilt waterfall charts highlighting changes in supply by purity product across the US, PADDs, basins and sub-basins (see figure below).
- NGL Annual Exits: A table showing annual exit production by NGL purity product for the US, PADDs, basins and sub-basins, including Y-o-Y changes in both percentage and volume.
To access these new features, download the latest NGL Purity Product file at the link below. The five new tabs are located on the far right side of the workbook.
https://portal.eastdaley.com/canvas/ngl-purity-product
Exports:
NGL exports increased 4.9% W-o-W for the week ending Aug. 21. LPG exports drove the increase while ethane shipments decreased.
LPG exports increased 8.2%, with a 22% increase at the Enterprise Hydrocarbons Terminal.
Ethane exports decreased 2.7% W-o-W, driven by a 51.3% decrease at Marcus Hook, which equates to about 65 Mb/d.
Rigs:
The total US rig count decreased to 601 the week of Aug. 22. Liquids-driven basins decreased to 462, down 2 rigs W-o-W.
- Anadarko (-1): H2AU
- Bakken (+2): True Companies, Petro-Hunt
- Eagle Ford (-2): ConocoPhillips, Lewis
- Powder River (-1): Paloma Operating
- Uinta: (+1): Dominion Energy
- Permian (-1)
- Midland: Double Eagle
