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Feature Articles

In-depth feature stories examining the trends, challenges and innovations shaping the propane and LPG industry.

  • Touch-A-Truck Events: Provide Ways To Engage With Community

    Two or three times a year for more than five years, Ciardelli Fuel Co. (Milford, N.H.) has parked one of its bobtails alongside work trucks from as many as 30 other companies and allowed children and parents to climb into the bobtail and see how it works. At these Touch-A-Truck and similar events, the bobtail was accompanied by two of the company’s crew members, who pointed out the different parts of the bobtail and explained what they do. As this was written, Ciardelli Fuel Co. had just been at two Touch-A-Truck events in August and was preparing to participate in a similar event in September. That event, Wheels & Wings at the airport in Nashua, N.H., includes airplanes and helicopters in addition to trucks. The…
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  • Eye-Popping Inventories, But How Many Barrels Are Handy?

    (October 7, 2019) — Primary U.S. propane/propylene inventories were fast-marching to 100 MMbbl in August, an achievable level in the current environment and one that was surpassed as recently as 2016. The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) notes in its Inventory Trends report that builds are accelerating within historical norms and are expected to stay robust and above 2018 levels for the U.S. as a whole. The association observes that continued growth in propane supply is being driven by upstream oil and gas drilling activity, especially in the Permian Basin and the Appalachia region. So, should everybody relax? Not necessarily. “A few years back if you told propane industry professionals that we would have somewhere between 90 MMbbl and 100 MMbbl heading into winter, there…
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  • Operation BBQ Relief Goes International Serving Hot Meals to Victims In Bahamas

    (October 4, 2019) — Shawnee, Kan. — Operation BBQ Relief (OBR), a relief organization that provides meals to displaced residents and emergency personnel during times of natural and other disasters, recently shipped 3,000 barbecue meals to victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. Four small planes flew supplies to the Grand Bahamas in mid-September, chief marketing officer David Marks told FOX4TV in Kansas City. Operation BBQ Relief will serve hot barbecue meals in the Bahamas for at least 30 days. The deployment added a new dimension to the nonprofit's logistical challenges as OBR navigated its first effort outside the United States. While flying meals to the Grand Bahamas, the organization encountered inclement weather and mechanical difficulties that caused unexpected delays. That didn’t stop OBR from…
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  • Four Propane Fleets Receive Autogas Award During BusCon Expo

    WASHINGTON (October 1, 2019) – Four transit fleets received the ninth-annual Top User of Propane Autogas Award from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) during the BusCon Expo in Indianapolis. The award celebrates fleets creating healthier environments for riders and communities by using clean, cost-effective, and domestically produced propane autogas. The awards were presented during an awards breakfast on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Indiana Convention Center. “We are proud to honor these fleets not only as top users of propane autogas, but as fleets that are committed to bettering the environment and providing safe, clean, and reliable transportation for their communities,” said Michael Taylor, director of autogas business development at PERC. “Propane autogas can provide many advantages and benefits, including the lowest total…
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  • Driver’s Wages…How They Affect Your Business Value

    (September 30, 2019) — With the national driver shortage in full swing, we are seeing upward pressure on wages. There are many articles that can be written on the driver shortage, however, as our focus is on business value, we will stick to the effect on value. Over the last two years, we have seen driver wages increase by as much as 10% annually. Companies are offering signing bonuses, low- or no-cost medical coverage, and other enhanced benefit packages. These increased costs all come out of owners’ pockets and as a result, without offsets, earnings and value have been decreasing for many companies. To understand the value aspect, I want to recount a story from a transaction I worked on 12 years ago. I was…
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  • National Autogas Day: Clean, Propane School Buses Gain Popularity Among USA School Districts

    (September 27, 2019) — As the country celebrates National Autogas Day, Butane-Propane News (BPN) recognizes school districts across the country that are replacing aging, polluting diesel buses with clean, cost-effective propane autogas buses. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) reports there are nearly 13,000 propane school buses operating in 700 school districts. These buses transport more than 700,000 students across North America. Propane now makes up about 45% of all non-diesel school buses used for pupil transportation. That’s about 675 million gallons of propane being consumed over the lifetime of the existing buses on the road. With more school districts looking to stretch budgets, save taxpayer dollars, and make “greener” choices, school districts increasingly are opting to upgrade to propane school buses as an…
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  • Risk Managment Transfer Versus Public Opinion

    Last May, the Western Propane Trade Show & Convention brought together propane marketers mostly from around the West Coast. In visiting with the marketers at the trade show, I was approached by a California marketer who told me about the public outcry when the propane companies tried to collect for the loss of leased tanks following the forest fires that had destroyed thousands of homes, leaving large areas devastated. The fires over such a wide swath were especially devastating to the propane companies that serviced this area. They lost their customers, their leased tanks, their regulators, the contents in the tanks, and, in the majority of cases, their present and future source of income. With the price of steel, new 500-gal. tanks are worth approximately…
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  • U.S. Leads Global Petroleum And Natural Gas Production

    (September 25, 2019) — U.S. petroleum and natural gas production respectively increased by 16% and 12% in 2018, with the two totals combined establishing a new output record, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports. The U.S. surpassed Russia in 2011 to become the world’s largest producer of natural gas and passed up Saudi Arabia in 2018 to emerge as the world’s leading petroleum producer. EIA notes that last year’s growth was one of the largest absolute petroleum and natural gas production increases from a single country in history. For the U.S. and Russia, petroleum and natural gas production is nearly evenly split; Saudi Arabia’s production heavily favors petroleum. Petroleum production is composed of several types of liquid fuels, including crude oil and lease condensate, natural…
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  • Help Propane Industry Support GreenCare for Troops

    WASHINGTON (September 25, 2019) – Contractors who visit the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) booth (No. 7094) at GIE+EXPO and enter to win the council’s equipment trailer giveaway will have $5 donated on their behalf to the Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program. It’s all part of PERC’s “ United We Fuel ” booth theme. “Propane is an all-American fuel, with the majority of the United States’ supply produced on American soil, and with much of the propane industry made up of family-run, small businesses for whom supporting service members and veterans is important,” said Jeremy Wishart, director of off-road business development. “We felt these goals really alig ned with Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program, which is highly regarded in the lawn care…
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  • DRAMATIC Emission Reductions From Propane Autogas School Buses

    Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), one of the biggest challenges to air quality in the United States, are as much as 96% lower when a school bus is fueled by propane autogas rather than diesel. That’s just one of the findings in a study recently published by West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels Engines and Emissions (CAFEE). Reduction of NOx is important because these emissions are regulated by the federal government and are a predominant non-attainment concern in many areas, the author of the study adds. “NOx is one of the primary precursors to ground-level ozone, or smog,” Ross Ryskamp, associate director, testing and development, with CAFEE, tells BPN. “The whole nation is making a big push to bring down NOx emissions from vehicles.”…
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  • Propane Showcased During “National Clean Energy Week” As Clean American Energy

    (September 23, 2019) — Activities are being held across the country through the end of September to help showcase propane as a clean, eco-friendly fuel in the eyes of policymakers. The activities will culminate during National Clean Energy Week (NCEW), with state and national policymakers meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss clean energy solutions. For the first time, the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) is a sponsor of NCEW 2019. The association has been organizing activities around the event and is encouraging others in the industry to coordinate activities with NPGA. During an all-day policy symposium that is among the events to be held in Washington, NPGA’s senior vice president of advocacy and technical services, Michael Caldarera, will be a featured speaker. Participation in the…
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  • Stephen Kaminski Named NPGA President and CEO

    (September 20, 2019) — Stephen T. Kaminski has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA). He will officially begin his service to the industry on October 28. Kaminski currently serves as chief executive officer of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which is a trade association representing the country’s 55 regional poison control centers. Previously, he served as general counsel and senior vice president of the American Humane Association as well as serving as vice president of Discovery Communications. He was an associate with the law firm of Covington & Burling, LLP, and he also was a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal…
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