Kristen Holmquist

After dodging the huge tariffs on exports of U.S. LPG and ethane to China — at least until August 12 — a new wrinkle has emerged. Enterprise Products Partners said in a filing May 29 that the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has flagged its exports of butane and ethane to China as a security risk; specifically, that they pose an “unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to a military end use.” Details about the licenses and how they will apply are limited at this point, but it appears they will be required for these exports to continue. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the potential impact on the ethane and butane markets. 

The U.S. propane market may appear seamless at times, but a lot is happening just below the surface to determine consumer pricing. Key factors include the high seasonality of demand, supply contracts that must account for the seasonality of product delivery and the price, and the cost of transportation from terminals to bulk plants to end users. In today’s RBN blog, we will review the final delivery steps, the impact of transportation costs, and how contracts are priced.

Natural gasoline is the most expensive natural gas liquid (NGL), accounting for more than 25% of the price-weighted NGL barrel (versus 10%-12% of the barrel by volume). It is also notoriously difficult to track, with similar products having different names and unclear demand segments. In fact, the difficulty tracking portions of demand, combined with an ongoing imbalance in crude oil supply/demand, led the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to change the way it accounted for natural gasoline demand, which made more than 200 Mb/d of production “disappear” in 2022. In today’s RBN blog, we look at natural gasoline’s primary uses and what was behind the EIA’s decision. 

Starting on April 10, China will enact an 84% reciprocal tariff on imports of U.S. goods. This increase was in response to the 104% tariff that the U.S. placed on imports of Chinese goods, which was subsequently raised to 125% by President Trump on April 9. China is likely to retaliate further. Unlike China’s February retaliatory tariffs of 10%-15% on U.S. oil and LNG, this time NGLs and all energy products are included. These higher tariffs have the potential to destroy propane and ethane exports from the U.S. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the potential impact of China’s reciprocal tariffs on the propane and ethane markets.

More than 9 billion gallons of propane were delivered to U.S. consumer markets in 2024, primarily for residential heating and cooking. The final step in propane’s pathway to the retail market is managed by a large group of companies known as retailers, which range in size from “mom and pop” operations that run only a couple of cars serving a local market to companies with fleets of cars and multiple supply points. As we detail in today’s RBN blog, the propane business requires a huge focus on logistics and personal relationships. 

In 2024, more than 9 billion gallons of propane were delivered to U.S. consumer markets, primarily for residential heating and cooking, with substantial volumes supporting the commercial, industrial, agricultural and transportation sectors. It is a physically complicated business because, unlike electricity and natural gas, which are delivered through wires and pipelines, respectively, the vast majority of the propane used by U.S. consumers is delivered by some combination of pipelines, rail cars and, ultimately, trucks. How does that complicated supply chain work in real life? In today’s RBN blog, we begin a detailed look at the U.S. propane market. 

A slew of LPG, ethane and ethylene export projects are underway along the Gulf Coast, a direct result of rising U.S. NGL production and generally flat domestic demand. Three of the projects will provide “flex” capacity of some sort — that is, the facilities will be able to shift between LPG and ethane exports or, in some cases, between ethane and ethylene. In today’s RBN blog, we review the history of U.S. LPG and ethane exports, why midstreamers have been struggling to keep up with export capacity, and how the ongoing addition of flex capacity is likely to play out.