Amid the ongoing volatility of equity prices, underlying midstream fundamentals continue to be healthy. Midstream throughput, as measured by the production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), continues to increase. Midstream capital needs and balance sheets also continue to improve.
Despite this constructive fundamental backdrop, midstream equity prices, as measured by the Alerian MLP Index (AMZ), have recently retraced to levels close to the lows of 2016, when crude oil prices were near $40 per barrel and the trajectory of US production appeared less clear.
Unsurprisingly, private equity