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Feature Articles

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

  • Crestwood Rail Terminal Opens in New York, Bolsters Winter Propane Supply

    Inside the Montgomery terminal: Capacity, rail access & benefits
    Read More →: Crestwood Rail Terminal Opens in New York, Bolsters Winter Propane Supply

  • Operation BBQ Relief Feeds Thousands Compliments of Propane

    (Since this Operation BBQ Relief article was published the organization has deployed to Northern California to assist victims and first responders in fire-ravaged areas including Sonoma and Napa counties. The organization’s co-founder, Stan Hays, has also been recognized as a CNN Hero.) For the first time in a century, two Category 4 or larger hurricanes hit the U.S. mainland in the same year, landing a one-two punch within days of each other. In late August, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas three separate times over six days. The destructive 100-plus-mph winds, heavy and excessive rainfall—up to and exceeding 50 inches in some areas—devastated the Texas Gulf Coast. Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic destruction left one-third of Houston underwater, displaced more than 13 million people in Texas, Louisiana,…
    Read More →: Operation BBQ Relief Feeds Thousands Compliments of Propane

  • Experts Weigh In On Winter Outlook

    (October 11, 2017) — BPN recently sent a series of questions regarding this winter’s supply and logistics outlook to George Koloroutis of ThompsonGas, chairman of the National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) Propane Supply and Logistics Committee, and Debnil Chowdhury of IHS Markit, manager of the consultancy’s natural gas liquids service. Responses appear below. Q: Propane exports, according to the Energy Information Administration, did gradually decline in late August, but remained above 600,000 bbld as of the week ended August 25 at 607,000 bbld. After Gulf Coast shipping returns to normal, do you anticipate exports falling under 600,000 bbld and remaining steady at that level? Obviously the lower the export volumes the better. A:  I agree that the lower the export volumes are, the better things are…
    Read More →: Experts Weigh In On Winter Outlook

  • VW Settlement Update for Nebraska

    (October 9, 2017) — The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has been named as the administrator of the VW Settlement funds for Nebraska. DEQ has set two dates for the public to provide input regarding how the money should be spent in the state and to ask questions. The Department has also provided a way to send in written comments to be added to the rule-making process. These comments must be received by the Department by November 3, 2017. The public meetings will be held on October 16th at 1:00 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb., at the Lancaster Event Center, and October 18th at 1pm in North Platte at the Best Western Plus. Lynne Schuller with the Nebraska Propane Gas Association will be attending both of…
    Read More →: VW Settlement Update for Nebraska

  • Propane Industry Organizes Proactive Hurricane Response

    Well before hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria began causing their historic destruction in August and September 2017, the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), and many state propane associations began preparing for the worst. As the hurricanes made landfall, many more industry stakeholders played key roles both large and small to provide relief to fellow industry members, their customers, and others hit hard by the storms. The Texas Propane Gas Association (TPGA) had several members in the affected area. Bill Van Hoy, executive director, contacted 40 and found most companies said despite some challenges they were going to be OK. There were a few companies in definite need of help and Van Hoy mobilized volunteers from other companies in the…
    Read More →: Propane Industry Organizes Proactive Hurricane Response

  • ROUSH CleanTech Reveals Propane Autogas Ford E-350

    LIVONIA, MICH. (Oct. 9, 2017) — ROUSH CleanTech revealed its newest propane autogas vehicle. The Ford E-350 single-rear-wheel and dual-rear-wheel cutaway provides public transit agencies a smaller propane vehicle fleet option for servicing routes with fewer customers. “We have well over 1,000 Ford E-450 propane autogas cutaways operating in transit fleets across the nation,” said Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and marketing for ROUSH CleanTech. “But, for agencies looking for a smaller, lighter vehicle with our innovative propane technology that maintains the original base Ford warranty, they can choose the Ford E-350 beginning with 2018 model year.” In addition to transit shuttles, the propane-fueled Ford E-350 cutaway is well suited for Type A school buses and delivery trucks in markets such as food and…
    Read More →: ROUSH CleanTech Reveals Propane Autogas Ford E-350

  • Uncertainty Tamed By Supply Chain Planning: Think Globally, Act Locally

    By John Powell… For retail and commercial propane distributors, the one certainty about the winter of 2017-2018 is uncertainty in the energy market—with risks to supplies, logistics, propane prices, and your profitability. Winter weather could return to “normal,” meaning 12% to 15% colder than the past two years, or revisit the deep freeze of a polar vortex, or run a repeat of El Niño-style warmth. Other concerns also are causing anxiety. Propane pricing is increasingly being driven by global supply and demand as the United States ramps up exports. Lingering impacts from Hurricane Harvey could continue to affect the entire production-to-consumption chain. The psychology of our economy and stock market — currently positive — also could change. As a result, propane pricing and availability seem more uncertain for this…
    Read More →: Uncertainty Tamed By Supply Chain Planning: Think Globally, Act Locally

  • NPGA Inventory: Hurricane Harvey Impacts Felt on Supply, Export Economics

    (October 5, 2017) — Hurricane Harvey left many in the U.S. propane industry with hopes export capacity affected by the storm would be thwarted to a level to allow primary inventories to reach adequate volumes in time for winter, observes the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA). However, Energy Information Administration (EIA) stock data and export figures from IHS Waterborne show the inventory build is not accelerating at a pace necessary to reach adequate levels for the upcoming heating season. Exports for September were much higher post Hurricane Harvey than prior to the storm. NPGA details that the hurricane’s impact on propane prices
in the U.S. and Asia led to increased exports in September. Initially, the Mont Belvieu propane-to-crude ratio increased from levels around 68% to 72%…
    Read More →: NPGA Inventory: Hurricane Harvey Impacts Felt on Supply, Export Economics

  • More Than $7 Million Available For School Bus Rebate Program

    (October 5, 2017) — School buses travel over four billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, diesel exhaust from these buses has a negative impact on human health, especially for children who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a school bus rebate program that is designed to encourage school bus fleet turnover to reduce harmful emissions from older, dirtier diesel vehicles so more children can ride buses with the cleanest emissions standards or buses that have been retrofitted to reduce emissions. The 2017 School Bus Rebate Program will provide more than $7 million to public…
    Read More →: More Than $7 Million Available For School Bus Rebate Program

  • Energy Distribution Partners (EDP) Announces Michigan Acquisition

    (October 4, 2017) — Lowe’s Bottled Gas Service, a privately owned company on Drummond Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has been purchased by Chicago, Illinois-based Energy Distribution Partners (“EDP”). Lowe’s Bottled Gas Service provides propane to 
residential and commercial customers on the island. Tom Knauff, Energy Distribution Partners CEO, stated,
“Lowe’s is our fourth acquisition in Michigan in the past
18 months, expanding our presence in the state. We are
pleased that Jack and Sherry Lowe chose EDP to allow them
to transition into retirement, knowing we will take exceptional care of their customers. We are delighted to have Lowe’s join our growing EDP family of companies.” Orval Lowe started Lowe’s Bottled Gas Service over 70 years ago, in 1946. Orval’s son, Jack, along with Jack’s wife, Sherry, have…
    Read More →: Energy Distribution Partners (EDP) Announces Michigan Acquisition

  • Empire Gas Builds Domain in Puerto Rico

    (This article was slated to be published in BPN magazine prior to Hurricane Maria. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people at Empire Gas Company, and all victims affected by the recent hurricanes. For a list of relief organizations providing assistance to hurricane victims, along with their ratings, visit CharityNavigator.org. Puerto Rico is in desperate need, please consider making a donation.) While it is uncertain whether Puerto Rico will ever become the 51st state of the union, one thing is certain related to the propane world — after 50 years in business Empire Gas has certainly staked out an empire on the Isle of Enchantment. Started in 1967 by Ramon Gonzalez Cordero and Ketty Simounet with $10,000 to invest, the company was named Empire…
    Read More →: Empire Gas Builds Domain in Puerto Rico

  • Environmental Groups Sue BLM To Halt Nevada Energy Projects

    (October 2, 2017) The Associated Press reports that environmentalists have recently sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to stop it from allowing oil and gas drilling on a vast stretch of federal land in Nevada. The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity allege BLM illegally failed to consider the potential consequences of hydraulic fracturing, which the groups assert could harm sage grouse habitat and contaminate fragile desert water sources, in addition to emitting climate-altering greenhouse gases. The suit has been filed in federal court in Reno, and seeks an order to force the bureau to rescind leases it sold in June on three parcels covering nine square miles. The groups are asking the court to forbid permits on an additional 103 parcels…
    Read More →: Environmental Groups Sue BLM To Halt Nevada Energy Projects

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