Freeze cuts Oklahoma oil and gas output

Market: Natural gas
21/02/25

Frigid weather in Oklahoma this week has shut in about a third of state oil and natural gas production, according to analysts and pipeline flow data.

About 35-40pc of daily oil and gas output in Oklahoma have been lost to freeze-offs from 19-21 February, Energy Aspects analyst David Seduski told Argus. That amounts to cuts of about 150,000 b/d of crude and 2.5 Bcf/d (71mn m³/d) of gas over the period relative to average daily production in the state, US Energy Information Administration data show.

The drop was observable in publicly available data for most interstate pipelines across the state, including Kinder Morgan's Natural Gas Pipeline Company, Howard Energy Partner's Midship Pipeline and Energy Transfer's Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company and Enable Gas Transmission pipelines, FactSet energy analyst Bailey McLaughlin said.

Production will probably continue to be lost through the weekend as cold weather lingers in the state.

Freeze-offs occur when temperatures drop low enough to prevent oil and gas production from reaching the wellhead by causing the water contained in the oil and gas stream to freeze. Freeze-offs in Oklahoma typically occur when temperatures fall below 22°F (-6°C), McLaughlin said. This is a higher threshold than the temperature required to curtail output in colder producing regions such as North Dakota, which has also lost production to freeze-offs in recent weeks.

The spot gas price at ANR Oklahoma, a regional trading hub on TC Energy's ANR Pipeline, on Thursday surged to $7.715/mmBtu, double the week-earlier price and the highest since 17 January.

By Julian Hast

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