BENTEK Top Stories

09/13/2017–
West Observer

Waha basis near year-to-date highs

Cash basis at Waha came in at minus $0.05/MMBtu on ICE for Wednesday’s gas day, tied for the strongest basis pricing of the year despite relatively weak downstream demand in the Southwest. On September 1, Waha basis also pushed up to minus $0.05/MMBtu but that spike was primarily caused by downstream demand in the Southwest pushing above 12 Bcf/d to the highest levels of the season. Current demand in the Southwest is at 10.1 Bcf/d for Wednesday’s gas day, down more than 2.5 Bcf/d from the start of the month. Although demand in Texas is set to rise through the week, demand in the state will not exceed levels earlier this summer, indicating that the impact of Texas demand on Waha pricing is less important than Southwest demand. The strength at Waha and average demand across California and the Southwest pushed the spread from Waha to the SoCal border down to just $0.02/MMBtu, near the lowest so far this month.