• Butane Inventory Analysis

  - Oct. 1 2008
  

• Frac Spread Margins Collapse with Feedstock Gains

  
  
  Frac spread margins plummeted across the board this week with prices dropping in both hubs, albeit at a slower pace than last week, and with feedstock prices making a strong return. Feedstock prices rose 26% in Conway and 21% in Mont Belvieu, which helped crush the margins to fractionate ethane in each hub by over 40%. The margin for ethane is by far the lowest in each hub with Kansas recording a margin of 21¢/gallon and 26¢/gallon in Texas.
  - Sep. 24 2008
  

• Storage Injections Expected to Fall Next Week

  
  
  Feedstock prices remained flat, which coupled with the decrease in NGL prices caused the frac spread margins to fall from last week. The biggest drop in margin was ethane, which also had the biggest price drop this week. In Texas, the margin for ethane fell 24%, while it fell a bit lighter at 11% in Kansas. Ethane remains the least profitable NGL with a 48¢/gallon margin, down from 60¢/gallon last week, in Mont Belvieu and a 41¢/gallon margin, down from 45¢/gallon, in Conway.
  - Sep. 10 2008
  

• Conway Margins Grow in Strength

  
  
  Heavy decreases in feedstock prices lead to another strong week for frac spread margins. No NGL had a decrease in its frac spread margin this week in either hub.Ethane had the largest increase in margin with 33% to 45¢/gallon in Conway following a 14% decrease in margin last week. The NGL has a stronger margin in Mont Belvieu at 60¢/gallon following a 5% increase this week.
  - Sep. 3 2008
  

• Frac Spread Gains Are on the Rise for Second Straight Year

  
  
  Frac spread margins in Mont Belvieu climbed steadily since last September, aside from a big downturn in April and a recent decrease the past month. Ethane margins were 46¢/gallon on Sept. 18, 2007 before jumping to 61¢/gallon on Dec. 19, when NGLs were trading at an all-time high. The low point this year was the margin of 29¢/gallon on April 16.
  - Aug. 27 2008
  

• Ethane, Iso-Butane Margins Follow Pricing Trends

  
  
  Frac spread margins followed along the same trends seen in this week’s prices with margins increasing in most cases in each hub, except for ethane and iso-butane in Conway, which each experienced a drop in price this week in Kansas.
  - Aug. 27 2008
  

• Storage Levels Continue to Slowly Improve

  
  
  In keeping with its standing as the only NGL to report price gains this week, ethane was the lone NGL to report gains in frac spread margin. In Conway, ethane had a 14% gain in margin, while Mont Belvieu saw an 11% gain in margin.
  - Aug. 20 2008
  

• Storage Injection Levels Continue at Slow Pace

  
  
  Once again the frac spread margins for ethane took a big hit following the continued drop of its price in both hubs. The margin in Mont Belvieu for ethane tumbled 40% and 33% in Conway.
  - Aug. 13 2008
  

• Frac Spread Margins Rebound Off of Price Stabilization

  
  
  Frac spread margins rebounded strongly off of the NGL price stabilization this week and sharp declines in feedstock prices.Conway had the two biggest increases with iso-butane increasing 24% and ethane increasing 13%. The NGL with the lowest increase in frac spread margins in Kansas was pentanes-plus, which rose by 3%.
  - Aug. 6 2008
  

• Margins Crash Along with NGL Prices

  
  
  Frac spread margins were way down this week following the huge price drops in Conway and Mont Belvieu. The largest drops in margin at each hub were felt by ethane, which also had the biggest price drops in each hub. The NGL had a 64% drop in Conway and a 25% drop in Mont Belvieu.
  - Jul. 30 2008
  

• Storage Levels Improve with Less Extreme Heat

  
  
  Frac spread margins largely improved following the drop in most NGL prices this week. The one notable exception was ethane, which fell at the exact same 15% pace as its price did in Conway. The story was better in Texas, as ethane’s frac spread margin rose 3% from last week.
  - Jul. 23 2008
  

• Average NGL Margins Make Double Digit Jumps

  
  
  Although no NGL had the frac spread margin increase of 46% that ethane had in Conway last week, all but one NGL had a double-digit margin increase from the prior week.
  - Jul. 16 2008
  

• Big Margin Increases Highlight Strong Week

  
  
  The huge price increase for ethane at Conway this week, along with a slight drop in feedstock prices, saw the frac spread margin jump an astounding 46%. This heavy margin increase overshadowed the 12% increase to fractionate the NGL in Mont Belvieu.
  - Jul. 9 2008
  

• Gas Storage Levels Continue to Trail 2007 Levels

  
  
  The frac spread margin for ethane continues to climb in Mont Belvieu thanks to a shortage of supply exiting Conway. Even with a 2% increase in feedstock prices, the margin for ethane in Texas was up 12%.
  - Jul. 2 2008
  

• Margins Swing Up in Texas, But Fall in Kansas

  
  
  Frac spread margins continued to level off in Conway this past week, with ethane and butane margins falling 13% each. The margins for propane and iso-butane in Kansas weren’t far behind as they dropped 8% and 10%, respectively.
  - Jun. 25 2008
  

Frac Spread Sample Data: Login Or Subscribe To See Current Prices

Aug 14, 2011
Ethane	55.52		82.33
Shrink	27.85		28.18
Margin	27.67	1.78%	54.15	5.59%
Propane	143.92		155.66
Shrink	38.47		38.93
Margin	105.45	1.45%	116.73	3.56%
Normal Butane	168.84		193.08
Shrink	43.55		44.07
Margin	125.29	0.07%	149.01	3.51%
Isobutane	196.00		210.25
Shrink	41.83		42.33
Margin	154.17	-1.69%	167.92	0.61%
Pentane+	222.23		245.92
Shrink	46.58		47.13
Margin	175.65	-1.78%	198.79	-0.63%
NGL ($/Bbl)	55.41	-0.71%	63.64	1.03%
Shrink	15.34		15.53
Margin	40.07	-0.08%	48.11	2.39%
Gas ($/mmBtu)	4.20	-2.33%	4.25	-2.97%
Gross Bbl Margin (in cents/gal)	92.34	0.05%	112.41	2.53%
NGL Value in $/mmBtu
Ethane	3.06	-0.32%	4.53	2.50%
Propane	5.00	0.41%	5.40	1.85%
Normal Butane	1.82	-0.56%	2.09	1.93%
Iso-Butane	1.22	-1.82%	1.31	-0.13%
Pentane+	2.87	-1.89%	3.17	-1.09%
Total Bbl Val.	13.96	-0.55%	16.50	1.30%
Margin	9.76	0.23%	12.25	2.87%