It’s propane weather in the Midwest, with cold fronts moving through the Ohio Valley and on into the MidAtlantic region. And no surprise, propane prices at the regional Conway, KS hub are doing exactly what they are supposed to do in such weather conditions – moving higher.
Featured Articles
- Blog
Cold as Ice - Frigid Weather Blasting into Propane Country. Markets Brace for Supply Disruptions
A blast of Arctic air plunges the Midwest and Northeast into deep freeze. Already-low propane inventories result in supply shortages in local markets. Propane transport trucks move product hundreds of miles from storage hubs to replenish regional terminals as markets scramble to meet surging propane demand. Are we talking about the nightmarish polar vortex winter of 2013-14, when regional propane inventories were sucked down dangerously low and Conway, KS, propane prices skyrocketed to almost $5.00/gal? No. We are talking about now. This is a description of what is happening today in U.S. propane country –– that belt of northern states that depend heavily on propane for heating. But this is not 2013-14. Things have changed. So in today’s blog we’ll explore how the latest polar vortex could be quite different than that weather-driven crisis seven years ago.
- Analyst Insight
Conway Vs. Mont Belvieu Propane Differential Going the Wrong Way?
It is winter in propane country, and even though it has been a relatively mild one so far, propane prices have been remarkably weak.
- Blog
Can't Get Enough of It - Are We on the Verge of a Propane Supply Shortfall?
During the last two weeks of April, a barrel of propane in Mont Belvieu was more expensive than a barrel of WTI crude oil in Cushing. That’s never happened before. You might think that such an aberration could be blamed on the wacky April-May 2020 COVID crude market, but that is only part of the story. Propane production is falling and pre-COVID projections of continued supply growth are out the window. But new gas processing plants, pipelines, fractionation facilities, dock capacity and downstream demand have come online in recent years, in anticipation of those ill-fated additional supplies. Already we are seeing flows, price relationships and differentials convulsing in response to the new reality, and projections of future supply/demand imbalances suggest a previously unthinkable possibility: a market that can’t get enough propane supply, especially if the winter of 2020-21 is a cold one. In today’s blog, we will explore the evidence of these market developments that is already visible and look to what may be ahead for propane supply and demand.
