Natural gas frac crews in the Lower 48 US as measured by SynMax have rebounded along with the rebound in July 2024 NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas prices.
The relationship between natural gas frac crews and natural gas prices usually isn’t this strong and linear. However, when prices go from near breakeven levels for a new well (~ $2.50 / MMBtu in general) to well over breakeven levels at ~$3.00 / MMBtu, the relationship dynamic changes and becomes stronger and more linear. Most of the recent increase in frac crews came from the Northeast and South Texas regions.
Matterhorn Express Pipeline Update
So far, the Matterhorn Express pipeline looks to be coming online sometime in September 2024. Devon Energy’s estimate from their analyst conference call was for the pipeline to come online at the end of Q3 2024, which is consistent with the September 2024 timeline. Hyperion’s estimate is for the pipeline to come online later towards the end of October 2024. Devon Energy’s next earnings conference call is going to be sometime in early August 2024 where they will likely put out another update on when the Matterhorn Express pipeline will come online since Devon Energy is a major investor in the pipeline.