Practical Law Glossary Item 5-522-4436 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Midstream
This segment of the oil and gas industry focuses on the activities that occur between the exploration and production (E&P) of hydrocarbons (also known as upstream) and the marketing, trading, distribution, and sale of oil and gas products to wholesale and retail customers (also known as downstream).
Midstream activities include:
Gathering and transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) using a variety of transportation networks. Oil and NGLs may be transported by ship, rail, pipelines, and truck. Because gas takes up a lot of space, it is primarily transported via pipelines or in specially-designed vessels in the form of liquefied natural gas. For more information on these processes, see Practice Notes: