February 2025, Vol. 252, No. 2
Global News
Global News February 2025
Howard Energy Acquires 120-Mile Ethylene Pipeline from EPIC
Howard Energy Partners (HEP) has acquired EPIC Midstream Holdings’ 120-mile ethylene pipeline, strengthening its presence in the Gulf Coast region. The bidirectional, 12-inch pipeline connects the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures petrochemical complex in Corpus Christi to storage facilities in Markham, Texas, and enhances HEP’s integration with its existing assets.
The pipeline aligns with HEP’s Javelina Plant, a treating and fractionation facility that extracts olefins, hydrogen, and NGLs from gas streams produced by local refineries. This acquisition enhances HEP’s capacity to support ethylene transportation and provides operational synergies within the region.
“This acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy of building a diversified midstream company through organic growth and acquisitions, anchored by long-term contracts,” said Mike Howard, Howard Energy Partners’ Chairman and CEO. “I want to thank our internal team for executing on this opportunity. We look forward to additional growth in 2025.”
The deal marks a significant year for HEP, which has completed several transactions totaling over $1.1 billion. With this acquisition, HEP now operates more than 1,500 miles of pipeline, nearly 1 billion cubic feet per day of cryogenic processing capacity, and almost 2.5 billion barrels of tank storage capacity across the U.S. and Mexico. – P&GJ
TotalEnergies to Pay $5 Million in FERC Manipulation Settlement
TotalEnergies will pay $5 million to settle claims by U.S. energy regulators that the French energy company and some of its traders manipulated the natural gas market in 2009-2012.
The settlement is for considerably less than the $214 million the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sought.
“To fully resolve the claims and allegations,” a TotalEnergies unit agreed to pay $5 million in restitution to certain agreed-upon, non-governmental organizations, FERC said in an order.
The order was neither an admission of liability by the TotalEnergies’ unit nor a concession by FERC Enforcement that its claims are not well-founded, FERC said.
Caspian Pipeline Consortium Lowered Oil Export Forecast Again
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which exports Kazakhstan’s oil via the Black Sea, was seen pumping 64.4 million metric tons of oil in 2024 in a latest estimate, further downgrading its exporting prospects, according to a shareholder.
It had initially planned to export more than 1.5 MMbpd (70 million tons) of oil in 2024, up from a record high of 63.5 million tons in 2023.
However, the consortium said in May it expected its oil exports to fall 7% short of a preliminary target owing to lower loadings from Tengiz, a key field. The plans might have assumed the export of 65.2 million tons, according to Reuters.
The main CPC shareholders are Transneft (24%), Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas KMGZ.KZ (19%), Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company CVX.N (15%), Lukarco B.V (12.5%), Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company (7.5%), CPC Company (7%) and Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited (7.5%).
Kinder Morgan Acquires Gas Gathering, Processing System in Bakken
Houston-based Kinder Morgan plans to buy a natural gas gathering and processing system in North Dakota’s Williston Basin from Outrigger Energy II LLC for $640 million.
The deal will include a 270 MMcf/d processing facility and a 104-mile high-pressure rich gas gathering pipeline with a capacity of 350 MMcf/d. The system, strategically located in the Bakken formation, is supported by long-term contracts with key customers in the region.
“This strategic acquisition allows us to efficiently expand our footprint and provide incremental transportation and processing services to meet the growing needs of our customers,” said Tom Dender, president of Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Midstream.
The transaction, which requires approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.
Kinder Morgan said there will be immediate shareholder benefits, projecting a 2025 adjusted EBITDA multiple of about eight times on a full-year basis. This calculation excluded $20 million in expected cash payments for 2025.
The company plans to fund the purchase using short-term borrowings and cash on hand. It also anticipates the acquisition will reduce the need for future capital expenditures to support growth among its existing Bakken customers. – P&GJ
US Oil Imports from Canada Hit Record High Amid Tariff Threat
U.S. crude oil imports from Canada climbed to record levels in the first week of January, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.
According to analysts, this came in response to incoming President Donald Trump’s inauguration and his plans to levy a 25% tariff on Canadian imports.
Canada has been the top source of U.S. oil imports for many years and supplied more than half of the total U.S. crude imports in 2023, according to Gulf Energy Information data. Many U.S. oil refiners, especially in the Midwest, are geared specifically to run heavier crude oil grades sourced from Canada.
U.S. crude oil imports from Canada rose by 689,000 bpd in the week in early January to 4.42 MMbpd, the highest in records going back to June 2010, the EIA data showed.
Total U.S. imports of crude oil fell by 498,000 bpd to 6.43 MMbpd, the lowest in a month, EIA data showed.
US Natural Gas Prices Surge 10% Due to Winter Storms
U.S. natural gas futures rose 10% to a one-week high in volatile trading as winter storms descended on the eastern part of the country, causing output to decline due to frozen oil and gas pipelines and wells.
Front-month gas futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 31.8 cents, or 9.5%, to settle at $3.672 per MMBtu, their highest close since Dec. 30.
In addition, gas prices gained support from near-record flows to LNG export plants and forecasts for colder weather and higher heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.
More than 323,000 homes and businesses were without power from Missouri to Virginia on Jan 23, according to Reuters. That was down from a total of more than 409,000 customers affected by the storm.
Weather-related output declines have been much smaller than in recent years. But with the coldest weather still to come, analysts said freeze-off declines will likely increase in coming days.
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