Chinese importers of LPG have been hit with higher prices and narrower margins as an ongoing trade dispute and sanctions have forced them to axe supplies from two key exporters—the U.S. and Iran—writes S&P Global Platts. China’s propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant operators, the main LPG importers, have sought alternative supply as they resell contracted volumes from the U.S., pushing up procurement costs even though the overall LPG market remains well supplied.
(November 5, 2018) — While the 2018 corn and soybean harvest on the U.S. side has seen average demand for propane to serve crop drying operations so far, farmers in parts of Western Canada in October were reported to be facing challenges to secure sufficient fuel to get this year’s wet and snowy crop in the bin. “It’s an added stress factor producers don’t need,” Ian Boxall, a grain farmer and vice president of the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan, told iPolitics.
(October 30, 2018) — Superior Plus Corp. (Toronto) is acquiring substantially all of the propane distribution assets of Musco Fuel & Propane LLP, an independent distributor based in Wolcott, Conn. that serves residential and commercial customers. Details regarding the transaction were not released. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
(October 29, 2018) — During the past decade the U.S trade gap for energy products has narrowed, observes the Energy Information Administration (EIA). From 2003 to 2007, the value of energy imports was about 10 times greater than the value of exports. By 2017, however, imports were only about 1.5 times greater than exports, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Crude oil surpassed hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) such as propane and butane to become the largest U.S. petroleum export, with 1.8 MMbbld of exports in the first half of 2018, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports. U.S. oil exports rose 787,000 bbld, or nearly 80%, from the first half of 2017 to the first half of this year and set a new monthly record of 2.2 MMbbld in June. Much of this crude went to destinations in Asia and Oceania such as China, South Korea, and India. Europe was the second-largest market for U.S.

 

(October 15, 2018) — The upcoming winter season will feature unique El Niño conditions, according to DTN, a provider of insights, information, and decision-support solutions in agriculture, energy, commodity and financial analytics, and weather-sensitive industries. DTN meteorologists are anticipating El Niño will wreak havoc and cause sudden and dramatic changes in weather conditions throughout the season.
(October 8, 2018) — Superior Plus Corp. (Toronto) has acquired all the issued and outstanding shares of United Liquid Gas Co. (UPE; Reno, Nev.), which operates under the trade name United Pacific Energy. United Pacific Energy is an independent wholesale propane and butane distributor in California. The acquisition will be funded by drawing upon Superior Plus Corp.’s credit facility and is anticipated to close this quarter.
WASHINGTON (October 4, 2018) — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a final rule that revises the 2016 Waste Prevention Rule, also known as the venting and flaring rule. The new rule, which included a 60-day public comment period, is aimed at reducing unnecessary burdens on the private sector and restore proven regulations at a time when investment in federal onshore oil and gas is skyrocketing.
ONEOK Inc. (Tulsa) on Sept. 10, 2018 said it plans to invest about $295 million to expand its West Texas LPG Ltd. partnership, otherwise known as West Texas LPG, whose pipeline system provides natural gas liquids takeaway capacity to Permian Basin producers.
(October 1, 2018) — Commercial vehicles will continue to run on diesel fuel for the foreseeable future, according to new research from the business information provider HIS Markit. Sixty-six percent of new medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles sold in the U.S. will be fueled by diesel—diesel and diesel hybrid—through 2040 compared to nearly 80% today, per findings released in September in the consultancy’s Reinventing the Truck study.
(September 19, 2018) — The American Petroleum Institute (API) highlighted the energy industry’s commitment to safety and the important role pipelines play in the life of every Michigan resident at an August U.S. Senate Commerce Committee field hearing on pipeline safety in the Great Lakes region.
Just in time for the winter heating season, Troy, N.Y.-based Ray Energy has commissioned its new propane rail and truck terminal in Hampton, N.Y. The 21-acre, Washington County facility is located near the New York-Vermont border. It features a 16-spot rail siding with an operational capacity of 28 railcars, and on-demand switch ing provided by the Vermont Railroad. Ray Energy’s railcar mover provides the ability to offload 16 cars a day.
Production of propane is going through what Argus Media calls a “Golden Age,” spearheaded by strong growth on the back of shale gas development in the U.S. The surge in production is having impacts around the world, especially throughout the Americas, where proximity and easy access to North American supply flows make for a heady cocktail of market evolution and growth.
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(September 10, 2018) — The American Petroleum Institute’s (API) latest monthly statistical report shows the U.S. set a record for the production of natural gas liquids in July, producing 4.4 MMbbld. July also saw the nation tie its record for crude oil output at 10.7 MMbbld.
(September 10, 2018) — Data from the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) latest Driver Compensation Study shows driver pay has climbed as rising demand for transportation services has increased competition for increasingly scarce drivers. “This latest survey from more than 100,000 drivers shows that fleets are reacting to an increasingly tight market for drivers by boosting pay, improving benefit packages, and offering other enticements to recruit and retain safe and experienced drivers,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello.
Enterprise Products Partners LP (Houston) and Houston-based American Midstream Partners LP have entered into an agreement under which American Midstream may elect to purchase a 25% interest in Enterprise’s Pascagoula natural gas processing plant. The purchase option is subject to conditions, including American’s completing modifications to facilities on its High Point pipeline system that will provide incremental natural gas volumes with access to the Pascagoula plant.
(September 7, 2018) — Large propane cargos have narrowed to their smallest discount against cif (cost, insurance, freight) Northwest Europe (NWE) naphtha cargos since late January, driven by strengthening propane prices and a relatively flat naphtha market, S&P Global Platts reports. On Aug. 20, large cif NWE propane cargos were assessed at $556 a metric tonne, while cif NWE naphtha cargos were at $622.50 a tonne, placing the spread between the two at minus $66.50 a tonne, the smallest gap since Jan. 19 this year.
Alliance AutoGas (AAG) showcased leading edge autogas hybrid technology at the 2018 Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo Aug. 22-23 at the Durham, N.C. Convention Center. AAG engineers have designed an autogas electric hybrid to be introduced to the market with the 2017 Ford Fusion. The 2.0-liter, fourcylinder vehicle will provide additional torque, reduced emissions, and better fuel economy due to the innovative hybrid system.
Cyberattacks on U.S. energy systems have become unavoidable, and enough have been successful that the sector and its regulators are increasingly focused on mitigation, response, and recovery, reports S&P Global Platts. Within the past six months, news has surfaced that hackers breached an industrial control system at a U.S. power plant, infiltrated a third-party data system used for scheduling gas flows on pipelines, and broke into email accounts at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry, is expanding available educational opportunities during the Work Truck Show 2019 by offering a new option for those attending the Green Truck Summit and Fleet Technical Congress sessions. The events will be held concurrently at the JW Marriott Indianapolis March 5.

The Work Truck Show runs March 5-8 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, with education sessions on March 5, and the exhibit hall open March 6-8.
S&P Global Platts writes that Chinese importers are snapping up spot LPG cargos offered by Middle East producers and have refrained from taking U.S. tonnes as China prepares to impose a 25% tariff on U.S. propane and butane imports in an escalating trade war between the two nations.
The oil giant, British Petroleum (BP), is set to spend $10.5 billion (U.S.) for thousands of acres of land containing 4.6 billion barrels of oil and gas in the United States. It will mop-up BHP Billiton’s shale operations in Texas and Louisiana in the largest deal in 20 years, in hopes it will be transformational for the business.