Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Matterhorn natural gas pipeline

in Texas was moving small amounts of gas from the Permian basin

in West Texas toward the Gulf Coast, executives at U.S. energy

company Permian Resources ( PR ) said at the Barclays CEO

Energy-Power Conference earlier this week.

The Matterhorn is the biggest gas pipe under construction

that is capable of moving gas that has been trapped in the

Permian basin, causing prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas to

turn negative a record number of times this year.

As more gas flows through the Matterhorn, analysts and

executives at Permian Resources ( PR ) said Waha gas prices should more

consistently price in positive territory.

"The Matterhorn is on line and moving little bits of gas,"

Permian Resources ( PR ) executives said, noting the pipe should be

"moving a real amount of gas in the next few months and we're

hoping to at least see Waha turn positive."

Officials at the Matterhorn Express venture were not

immediately available for comment.

Gas prices at the Waha hub have averaged

below zero a record number of days so far in 2024, including an

all-time low of minus $4.80 per million British thermal units

(mmBtu) on Aug. 29, as pipeline and other constraints trap gas

in the nation's biggest oil-producing basin. That was the 10th

time Waha prices averaged below zero in August and was a record

33rd time so far in 2024.

Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. It happened

17 times in 2019, six times in 2020 and once in 2023.

"Spot Waha has not been a fun place to sell gas over the

past few months," executives at Permian Resources ( PR ) said at the

conference. "We would like to sell gas at more than zero."

In the past, Matterhorn Express projected the 490-mile

(789-km) pipe capable of moving up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per

day (bcfd) of gas from the Permian to the Gulf Coast, could

enter service in the third quarter of 2024.

Matterhorn Express is a joint venture between units of

WhiteWater, EnLink Midstream ( ENLC ), Devon Energy ( DVN ) and

MPLX ( MPLX ), according to WhiteWater's website.