AltaGas recently announced a delay to the planned startup of its 56-Mb/d Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF) on the northwestern coast of British Columbia (BC) from late 2026 to March 2027. The delay means East Asian buyers of liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs; propane and butane) won’t have the benefit of increased fuel supplies from one of their nearest potential sources for the upcoming winter, so they may soon discover that, as Tom Petty once sang, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part.” Phase I of REEF is expected to be the first of several planned projects to add LPG export capacity on the BC coast over the next several years, which could result in a more than doubling of Western Canadian LPG exports to Asia. In today’s RBN blog, the first in a short series, we’ll review the three existing LPG marine export terminals on North America’s west coast and how their growth has impacted other markets for Western Canadian LPGs.
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The U.S. NGLs Map provides a comprehensive view of the transport, processing, and export networks moving NGLs across the U.S.
We’ll start by looking at the North American west coast’s oldest — and until 2019, its only — marine LPG export terminal, at Ferndale, WA (dark-green diamond in Figure 1 below). Built in the 1970s for seasonal LPG storage to help balance the needs of nearby refineries, the facility’s then-operator Texaco began LPG exports on a regular basis in 1989, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established limits on the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from motor gasoline that reduced the amount of butane that could be blended with gasoline. To satisfy regulatory requirements for the Texaco merger with Chevron in 2001, Texaco’s stake in the Anacortes, WA, refinery was sold, leaving the Ferndale facility’s owner, Chevron, with no nearby refinery in Washington. Chevron sold the Ferndale terminal to Petrogas in 2014.
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About the song
“The Waiting” was written by Tom Petty and appears as the first song on side one of Top Petty and The Heartbreakers’ fourth studio album, Hard Promises. Petty says the song’s title was inspired by a Janis Joplin quote about touring: “I love being onstage and everything else is just waiting.” It was released as a single in April 1981 and went to #1 on the Billboard Top Tracks and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts. Personnel on the record were: Tom Petty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike Campbell (lead guitar, bass), Benmont Tench (keyboards, backing vocals), Stan Lynch (drums, backing vocals), and Phil Jones (percussion).
Hard Promises was recorded in 1980-81 at Sound City in Van Nuys, CA, and Cherokee and Goodnight in Hollywood. Produced by Jimmy Iovine and Tom Petty, the album was released in May 1981. It went to #5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album’s release was initially delayed by Petty voicing his objections to his label raising the retail price on his album by $1 over the usual list price. Petty won the battle and the LP was released under its usual list price. The album cover was shot by Joel Bernstein and features Petty in Aaron’s Record Store in Hollywood. During the recording of the album, John Lennon was murdered in New York City. The run-out groove on the early U.S. and Canadian pressings has “We Love You J.L.” etched in the vinyl. Three singles were released from the LP.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, FL, in 1976. Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench were in the Gainesville band Mudcrutch, which released one single for Shelter Records in 1975. The three enlisted Gainesville bassist Ron Blair and Los Angeles drummer Stan Lynch to form the original version of The Heartbreakers in 1976. They released 16 studio albums, 10 live albums, a soundtrack album, nine compilation albums, an EP, and 76 singles. They have sold more than 85 million records worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, won a Grammy Award, and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band broke up after the death of Tom Petty in October 2017 at the age of 66. All of The Heartbreakers have remained active after Petty’s death. Mike Campbell has been the most visible, releasing four studio albums and four singles with his band, The Dirty Knobs. They will be touring the U.S. through October, supporting their latest release, Mission of Mercy.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
