EIA: US ethane production reaches record high in April 2023

Increased production in the Permian Basin was the primary driver of the overall increase in ethane production.

From March 2023 to May 2023, US average production of ethane exceeded 2.6 million bpd, the highest rate ever. Increased US production of ethane occurred in conjunction with increased production of natural gas. Ethane, along with other natural gas plant liquids (NGPLs), is recovered at natural gas processing plants as raw natural gas from the well is processed to meet natural gas pipeline specifications.

Marketed natural gas production, which includes both dry natural gas and NGPLs before they are separated out, also set new records in 2023. It exceeded 110 billion ft³/d every month this year through to May 2023, the first time such levels were achieved, and averaged 112 billion ft³/d from March through to May 2023. Natural gas production grew in 2023 after a monthly decline in December 2022 when a winter storm caused both natural gas production and ethane production to decline, especially in Texas and the Midwest.

The Texas Inland and New Mexico refining districts, which include the Permian Basin, accounted for 60% of US ethane production from January through May 2023, slightly higher than the 58% share observed in 2022. Ethane production in these two districts averaged 1.5 million bpd in the first five months of 2023, up 12% (0.2 million bpd) from the same period last year. Ethane production in other refining districts of the US was essentially unchanged from the same period in 2022.

US ethane production grew in response to rising demand from both domestic and global consumers. Product supplied of ethane, a proxy for domestic consumption, averaged 2.1 million bpd from January to May 2023 and set a record of 2.2 million bpd in May 2023, up from 2 million bpd during May last year. US ethane exports set a record in March 2023, averaging 537 000 bpd. In the first five months of 2023, the US exported an average of 489 000 bpd, up from 448 000 bpd in January – May 2022. The US has exported ethane for nearly a decade, and it became the world’s top exporter of ethane in 2015.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/18082023/eia-us-ethane-production-reaches-record-high-in-april-2023/