Eco-Energy Among Private Marketing Firms, Integrated Major Companies that Rule Gas Marketing Sphere: Platts Survey
FRANKLIN, Tenn.--(S&P GLOBAL, PLATTS, GAS DAILY)--While the natural gas marketing space in North America continued to be dominated by a few big integrated oil and gas companies and private marketing companies in the fourth quarter of 2018, some independent exploration-and-production companies continued to post impressive numbers.
The top five spots in S&P Global Platts gas marketer survey, based on the volumes of natural gas sold in North America during the quarter, remained unchanged from Q3 2018, with BP continuing to dominate the field. With an estimated marketed volume of 22.3 Bcf/d, BP marketed almost 10 Bcf/d more than second place Macquarie Energy, with a volume of 12.6 Bcf/d.
Third-place Tenaska, a privately held energy marketer, reported a volume of 10.6 Bcf/d, an increase of 800 MMcf/d in the fourth quarter of 2017, while Shell Energy North America’s reported volumes of 9.9 Bcf/d, down slightly from the 10.0 Bcf/d reported in Q4 2017.
Rounding out the top five, large producer ConocoPhillips reported an average volume of 8.4 Bcf/d, up 200 MMcf/d from the year-ago quarter. Among players posting big year-over-year gains in marketed volumes, privately held J. Aron, number seven in the rankings, posted a 1 Bcf/d increase in Q4 2018, compared with the previous year’s quarter.
Other market players posting significant marketing gains compared with Q4 2017 are: Southern Company’s Sequent Energy Management, 300 MMcf/d; Direct Energy, 400 MMcf/d; EDF, 500 MMcf/d; CenterPoint Energy, 300 MMcf/d; NextEra, 300 MMcf/d; Castleton Commodities, 600 MMcf/d; and ARM Energy Management, 600 MMcf/d.
Several upstream producers, which typically sell their own production, also posted year-over-year marketing volume gains. These included Chevron, 400 MMcf/d; Antero Resources, 500 MMcf/d; and Cabot Oil and Gas, 400 MMcf/d.
Appalachian producer EQT reported selling about 4 Bcf/d in Q4 2018, up 1.1 Bcf/d from Q4 2017. However, the 2.9 Bcf/d it reported marketing in the fourth quarter of 2017 does not reflect the full impact of its acquisition of rival producer Rice Energy, which closed in November of that year.
Eco-Energy, a marketing and trading company specializing in biofuels, joined Platts marketing survey this quarter, reporting that it is marketing about 1.5 Bcf/d in Q4 2018 compared with 1.0 Bcf/d in the previous year’s quarter.
— Jim Magill
Top North American Gas Marketers Q4-18 (cf/d)
| Index | Company | Q4-18 | Q4-17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BP | 22.3 | 21.2 |
| 2 | Macquarie Energy | 12.6 | 13.2 |
| 3 | Tenaska | 10.6 | 9.8 |
| 4 | Shell Energy North America | 9.9 | 10.0 |
| 5 | ConocoPhillips | 8.4 | 8.2 |
| 6 | Southern Co./Sequent | 7.0 | 6.4 |
| 7 | J. Aron | 6.4 | 5.4 |
| 8 | Direct Energy | 5.6 | 5.2 |
| 9 | EDF | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Mercuria | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| 11 | EQT* | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| 11 | CenterPoint Energy | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| 12 | Chevron** | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| 13 | NextEra | 3.3 | 2.7 |
| 14 | Castleton Commodities | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| 15 | Antero Resources | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| 16 | ExxonMobil | 2.8 | 3.0 |
| 17 | Cabot Oil & Gas | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| 18 | SWN Energy Services | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| 18 | Mieco | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 19 | Chesapeake Energy | 2.0 | 2.6 |
| 19 | ARM Energy Management | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| 20 | NJR Energy Services | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| 21 | Emera | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| 22 | Canadian Natural Resources | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| 22 | Total Gas & Power | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| 22 | Eco-Energy | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| 23 | Encana | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| 24 | Devon Energy | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| 24 | Anadarko Petroleum*** | 1.1 | 1.0 |
*EQT Q4 2017 volumes do not reflect full impact of merger with Rice Energy **Chevron US volumes only ***Anadarko Petroleum US volumes only CFE International, listed number 13 on the Q3 2018 survey, declined to participate in this month’s survey Source: Company submissions, quarterly reports and SEC filing
ABOUT ECO-ENERGY, INC.
Eco-Energy is an integrated biofuel supply chain company focused on the marketing, trading, transportation, and distribution of biofuels across the globe. Eco-Energy is among the largest full-service marketing companies in North America with nearly $5 billion in sales and handling over 15% of the biofuels market. By leveraging Eco-Energy’s core competencies in logistics, distribution, and trading, Eco-Energy is able to provide innovative, value-added solutions for a more stable, disciplined, and vertically integrated supply chain.