The US oil, natural gas and NGL markets are more interconnected than ever, with each other and with global dynamics. The deep connections we see today have evolved in the 15 years since the start of the shale revolution, and by recognizing how different segments have impacted each other, we can better explain how they are driving today’s markets. This was the focus of our Fall 2023 Energy School and is the subject of today’s RBN blog, which (warning) is a blatant ad for Encore Energy Schoola newly available online version of our recent conference.
The School of Energy conference, as the name suggests, is designed to teach energy professionals what they need to know about the US energy industry. Let’s start with the basics: the fundamentals of how national energy markets work Module 1. As we do so, we provide context for how these markets developed to where they are today and insight into how they are fundamentally interconnected. The first, most basic connection we covered in the Energy School was the common origin of crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. Although the mix of these commodities varies widely from basin to basin and even from well to well, they all emerge from the soil as an intermingled stream. Therefore, the development of one resource will inevitably affect others. Likewise, any disruption in one flow, whether logistical or market-related, will also spill over into the others. This is what the second of the five major modules of the Energy School is about.
Figure 1. US oil, gas and NGL production. Source: RBN
