Data reported by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) for Western Canada’s propane inventories at the end of September (red line in left hand chart below) were posted at 6.5 MMbbl, registering a rare and large reduction for the month at 0.8 MMbbl and stand 0.7 MMbbl (-10%) below the five-year average (blue line). In Eastern Canada (right hand chart) September stocks were reported as 3.4 MMbbl (red line), with a below average increase of 0.1 MMbbl versus August and stand 1.3 MMbbl (-28%) below the five-year average (blue line). Price driven wellhead curtailments of natural gas output in Western Canada during September were the primary driver of the reduction in Western Canadian propane stocks as the amount of propane extracted by fractionation plants fell to a 17-month low. This reduction also affected propane shipments to Eastern Canada, holding regional stocks below average.
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