Exports are extremely important to the health of the US propane market. As shown in the chart below, the US exports 70% of its propane production. Most of these exports come from the USGC with roughly 40 Mb/d leaving via Ferndale, WA, and around 215 Mb/d leaving via Marcus Hook, PA. The remaining 1.4-1.6 MMb/d leaves via the USGC. Nearly 60% of total US LPG exports head to Asia with 28% of those exports heading to China alone.
Featured Articles
- Blog
When My Ship Comes In - What Is Happening With Propane Exports and Ship Cancellations
<p>U.S. propane production from natural gas processing has doubled over the past five years, but domestic demand has hardly moved the needle. So the only way the propane market has balanced is through exports, and it is no overstatement to say that the ship has really come in for U.S.</p>
- Blog
Let's Get Physical - An Insider's Look at the Ins and Outs of International LPG Trading
U.S. LPG export volumes have climbed to astronomical levels this year. Almost 60% of U.S. propane production, or about 1.3 MMb/d on average so far in 2019, along with a sizable volume of butane, is being shipped to overseas markets, mostly to Asia. As anyone who’s talked shop with an LPG trader knows, international trading of propane and butane (collectively LPGs — Liquified Petroleum Gas) is a wild, roller-coaster kind of business. But how exactly does it all work? How do the players involved acquire the volumes, cut the deals with export dock owners, arrange for shipping and sell the cargoes to buyers? And, most importantly, how do these shippers make money? Today, we begin a series on international LPG trading that looks behind the curtain and drills down into the nuances that make the difference between success and failure in this traditionally opaque world.
- Blog
Here, There and Everywhere - U.S. Exports Transform NGL Markets
U.S. propane is fanning out across the planet, with export volumes now triple those of any other country. The global LPG market today is dominated by cargoes shipped from U.S. ports. Buyers from Mexico to South Korea can’t make a move without considering conditions on the Houston Ship Channel or pipeline constraints in Pennsylvania. But an interconnected market is a two-way street. U.S. propane prices are now influenced more by the weather in Europe and Asia than by the weather in Wisconsin or New Hampshire. And it’s not only propane. All NGLs are experiencing growth in U.S. export volumes, with huge implications for infrastructure, capacity constraints and, of course, prices. Today, we preview the deep dive into these issues on the agenda at RBN’s upcoming xPortCon conference.
