Midstream Business Magazine - March 2014
Cover Story
Going Like A Million
The Bakken has shown how big it really is, and midstream’s challenge remains the same:
How to move all that production out of what’s now a world-class oil field?
Playing For The Queen
The Gulf Coast has long been the most important piece in the midstream game, and production increases are causing the region to grow in significance.
Editor's Note
Green Politics, Red Ink
Renewable energy sources are expensive, inefficient and likely to stay that way.
Wide Awake
In the 1990s, companies sought to beef up short-term earnings by cutting general and administrative expense. That strategy may have been penny wise and pound foolish.
Construction Update
A Panama Pause
Midstream businesses are among those counting on the expansion of the Panama Canal. The construction project came to a halt in February.
Changing Their Tune On Bluegrass
Kentucky landowners—including a group of Marion County nuns—who are challenging the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline have at least another year to make their case.
Feature
A Competitive Powerhouse
DCP Midstream Partners enjoys strong sponsor support and an array of organic projects to grow on.
Abundant, Cleaner, Cheaper
Advances in technology position natural gas as the fuel to move us.
Building On Relationships
Defining winning strategies and success with a private equity investor whose specialty is funding midstream projects.
Closing Bell
Cold And Numb; Fruit And Nuts
Closing Bell
The Putin Vortex
Do You Know The Way To Monterey?
California’s enigmatic formation may have boom potential, but producers haven’t solved it yet.
Generating Capital
Led by a team of industry veterans, the breakaway Texas investment firm U.S. Capital Advisors LLC is powering up.
Howard To Industry: Follow Me
Howard Energy Partners blazes its own trail, sticks to it and has no plans to slow down.
Keep Calm And Move The Crude
Price pressures, bottlenecks and varied API gravities generate only momentary bursts of angst—the boom goes on.
Keeping Up With The Joneses
Criticism of the long-held Jones Act is resurfacing amid a ship shortage and massive transportation needs.
Q&A: Michael J. Latchem
Lucid Energy Group's managing director and chief executive thinks long term.
Q&A: Robert J. Clark
Bear hunting, again.
Revving Up
Increased production from remote, shale-oil fields has brought into focus a shortage of qualified truck drivers that is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
The 'Eaglebine' Takes Off
Modern technology stirs a rebirth in another historic oil play.
The Education Need
Employers have a growing pool of educated candidates and educational institutions are ensuring it stays that way.
Virtual Presence
Energy companies get eyes into the field instantly with virtual-presence systems.
Whither Rail?
The nagging question of what changes await for crude by rail looms larger in the Bakken than anywhere else.
Alerian Index
MLP M&A Mania
What will M&A activity look like in 2014?
The Importance Of MLP Distributions
Is a distribution cut a death knell for a master limited partnership (MLP)?
Finance Matters
MLP Momentum
The ascendancy of master limited partnerships (MLPs) in the midstream space shows few signs of faltering.
Plumbing Patience
Master limited partnerships (MLPs) may be one of the best asset classes for long-term investment, but it’s unlikely that portfolio managers will see returns in 2014 that mirror those of last year’s giddy rates exceeding 20%.
News Flow
Alaska seeks equity in big LNG project
The long-discussed Alaska gas pipeline and liquefaction project may be closer to reality, but the partners are still jockeying for shares in the multibillion dollar proposal.
Kinder Morgan: repurposing existing infrastructure
A Kinder Morgan vice president detailed opportunities for repurposing, expanding cheaply and more efficiently.
New rail rules to raise costs
Increased U.S. and Canadian regulation of rail shipments of crude oil is likely, but the details aren’t certain. What is certain, according to Wells Fargo Securities, is the changes will raise costs for shippers.
NGL Frac Spread
Margins Crash As Gas Prices Increase
Although temperatures didn’t approach the lows experienced during the polar vortex events earlier this year, natural gas prices were at their strongest in early March. This caused frac spread margins to take downturns across the board.
Propane Heats Up With Sustained Cold
Frigid temperatures plagued the Northeast and Midwest at the start of 2014, resulting in soaring propane and natural gas prices.
Transaction Update
Be Forearmed: Busy Year Ahead
Three companies with muscular market capitalization move to shed assets not in alignment with their identities.
Beefing Up
In 2013, merger and acquisition activity in the sector topped $62 billion, a 16% increase from 2012.