East Daley Analytics said recently oil production in Permian Basin is primed to grow in 4Q along with natural gas production after the scheduled startup of Matterhorn Express gas pipeline this month. East Daley Analytics expects Matterhorn to begin operations between Sept 15 and Oct. 1 with capacity of 2.5 billion cfd from Waha in west Texas to Katy on the Texas coast. Matterhorn’s “golden weld” occurred Aug. 26 to mark completion.
“We have long predicted 4Q growth in the Permian tied to Matterhorn startup,” East Daley said Sept. 11. “Our latest Permian Basin production model … forecasts crude oil to grow 2.3 percent in 4Q, adding 144 million b/d of new supply. October will mark the first month that Permian oil production exceeds the recent high of 6.1 million b/d set in December 2023.”
East Daley said Permian production of natural gas is forecast to exit 2024 about 7 percent higher from a year earlier for a gain of 1.73 billion cfd. And the firm based in Greenwood Village, Colo., said Permian oil production in 2025 is forecast to grow another 8.7 percent (533,000 b/d). Two other pipeline expansions are planned in 2025 to keep crude oil moving.
“The Permian Basin has historically been a crude-driven basin,” Kristy Oleszek of East Daley told Midland Reporter Telegram, “although this is changing with the ramp up of NGLs and LNGs.”