Ethane prices rebounded at both hubs this week on the back of the news that ConocoPhillips’ Gulf Coast Fractionators ONEOK Partners’ Mont Belvieu fractionator will undergo maintenance in April and May. The ethane market was similarly supported in late 2011 in response to the news that ethane crackers would undergo scheduled maintenance in early 2012.

The 30- to 45-day scheduled turnarounds for these fractionators may result in up to 115,000 barrels per day of ethane extraction to be affected. In the very near-term, ethane prices should benefit, but prices may ...