ONEOK's Q3 profit rises on the back of strong demand and a narrower annual forecast

Pipeline operator ONEOK announced a 52.6% increase in its third-quarter profits on Tuesday. This was largely due to higher demand for natural gas in the Rocky Mountain Region, as well as higher volumes of natural gases and natural gas liquids.

The company reported that raw feed volumes of natural gas liquids in the Rocky Mountain Region (NGLs) increased by 7%, and natural gas volumes in the Rocky Mountain Region processed by 5%.

The petrochemical industry uses NGLs like ethane or propane as feedstock.

ONEOK's NGL unit adjusted Core Profit rose 1.3%, to $624 Million during the quarter reported. The core profit of the Natural Gas Pipelines segment increased by 22.1%.

In June, ONEOK acquired a pipeline system for NGLs from Easton Energy. This acquisition helped ONEOK expand its NGL portfolio. In July, the company expanded its refined product pipeline into the Greater Denver Area.

The segment that includes refined products and crude oil generated a quarterly profit of $441 million.

In the third quarter of 2018, the company continued its asset expansion by acquiring midstream assets located in the Permian basin and the Mid-Continent.

The operator of the pipeline also reduced its profit forecast for this year to between $2.87 and $3.02 from its previous expectation of 2,73 to $3.03 Billion.

The Tulsa-based company, which has its headquarters in Oklahoma, reported a net income of $693.18 million or $1.18 a share for the three months ending Sept. 30. This compares to $454.98 million or 99.cents a share a year ago. (Reporting from Mrinalika and Tanay in Bengaluru, editing by Alan Barona.)

(source: Reuters)