AltaGas averaged 125 Mb/d of LPG exports to Asia during Q1 2026, up 5% from a year ago, underscoring continued strength in global demand, the company said during its quarterly earnings call May 5.
NGL production in Western Canada hit an all-time high in 2025 and looks to be headed even higher in the years ahead. Major midstream players, such as AltaGas, have been undertaking infrastructure expansions to deal with all the additional gas processing, Y-grade fractionation and product exports.
The AltaGas/Royal Vopak Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal in the Port of Prince Rupert, BC, is poised to receive and load its first Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) any day now, a milestone that will make it Western Canada’s first LPG export facility and only the second such terminal in the greater Pacific Northwest region. With a capacity of 40 Mb/d, the facility is likely to provide a healthy boost to Western Canadian propane exports in 2019, easing oversupply conditions in the region while also providing producers with enhanced access to overseas markets, particularly in Asia. Today, we take a closer look at the new Prince Rupert facility and what it means for the Western Canadian propane market.
Big increases in LPG (propane and butane) exports are planned for the west coast. In March (2014) Petrogas purchased the Ferndale, WA terminal from Chevron – the only existing west coast LPG terminal. Then in April, Sage Midstream announced that the company is developing another LPG terminal about 200 miles south at the Port of Longview, WA. Both terminals are primarily targeting propane exports, not the export of butane that has been the mainstay of Ferndale for decades. What is the logic behind these deals? What needs to happen to make them work? Today in this second part of our series on the new west coast LPG game, we take a closer look at these two facilities, including their potential supply and market destinations.
