Michigan Attorney General’s Appeal of Line 5 Ruling Denied
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
(February 12, 2020) — A ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals has reaffirmed Enbridge Inc.’s (Calgary) right to proceed with tunnel construction to house the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The decision denied Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s request to stay a lower court opinion. That ruling overruled her objections to an agreement that approved the $500-million tunnel construction project.
Natural Gas Exports Seen Nearly Doubling by 2021
Monday, February 10, 2020
(February 10, 2020) — The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that U.S. natural gas exports will exceed imports to the nation by an average of 7.3 Bcfd in 2020, a level 2.0 Bcfd higher than in 2019. And exports are seen surpassing imports by 8.9 Bcfd in 2021. Growth in net exports will be led primary by increases in LNG exports and pipeline exports to Mexico. Net natural gas exports more than doubled in 2019 compared to 2018, and EIA expects they will nearly double again by 2021 from 2019 levels.
Drilling Slowdown Hits Appalachian Gas Output
Monday, February 3, 2020
(Februrary 3, 2020) — A commitment from Appalachia’s natural gas producers to slow drilling activity this year is already taking its toll in the region, with December production levels seen to register their first monthly decline since May, reports S&P Global Platts. Modeled output across the Marcellus and Utica shales averaged 33.3 Bcfd in December, roughly 170 MMcfd below the November average.
Small Business Owners To Raise Compensation
Thursday, January 30, 2020
(January 30, 2020) — Thirty percent of small business owners reported raising compensation at year end, and 26% said they plan to do so in the coming months, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’s (NFIB) monthly jobs report. The survey recorded the highest level of compensation increases since December 1989.
Presidential Race Threatens Headwinds for Energy Sector
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
(January 28, 2020) — Oil markets may be underestimating the risks to U.S. energy production and export growth from the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election, analysts tell S&P Global Platts. If a Democrat wins in November, they expect the incoming administration will likely introduce new regulations limiting hydraulic fracturing, flaring, offshore drilling, and possibly exports, but it remains unclear how far these threatened initiatives may go.
Propane Is Key Tool in Aiding Development of Economies
Monday, January 27, 2020
(January 27, 2020) — A new white paper published by Argus Media observes that LPG is now at the heart of global development. A trend that is increasingly clear as the world moves into a new decade is the key role propane is playing as a tool to aid the development of economies and alleviate poverty, particularly in Asia and Africa.
Spot Cargo Premium Hits Another High on Gulf Coast
Thursday, January 23, 2020
(January 23, 2020) — Prices for spot propane cargos on the U.S. Gulf Coast hit 68-month highs in late December 2019 amid weak Mont Belvieu prices and softer freight rates, reports S&P Global Platts. Free onboard propane cargos for loading 30 to 45 days forward spiked to a 30-cent/gal. premium over cavern product. The last time the propane cargo premium was higher was in April 2014 at 30.50 cents/gal.
U.S. Sets New Record For Energy Consumption
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
(January 21, 2020) — In a presidential race that has seen Democratic candidates universally assault fossil fuels and call for banning their use in order to reverse climate change, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) at year end reviewed that primary energy consumption in the U.S. reached a record high of 101.3 quadrillion Btu in 2018. That mark was up 4% from 2017 and was 0.3% above the previous record set in 2007. The increase in 2018 was the largest rise in energy consumption, in both absolute and percentage terms, since 2010.
19 Million Jobs Wiped Out If Proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Ban Proceeds
Monday, January 20, 2020
(January 20, 2020) — New analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute finds that a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the U.S., as proposed by Democratic presidential candidates, would eliminate 19 million jobs between 2021 and 2025. The prohibition would also reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $7.1 trillion over the same period.
Trade Group Backs Principle of Power Market Carbon Pricing
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
(January 15, 2020) — A U.S. trade group representing large natural gas suppliers has come out in favor of a carbon price as a key method of reducing carbon emissions in power markets now, and enabling drastic cuts or eliminating emissions in the future, reports S&P Global Platts. The position, which the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) announced Dec. 3, comes as an increasing number of states are adopting ambitious carbon-reduction goals and renewable portfolio standards.
U.S. LPG Exports Seen Poised for More Growth
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
(January 14, 2020) — Argus Media reports that the U.S. propane arbitrage at Mont Belvieu, relative to delivered prices in Asia on the Far East Index (FEI), widened to $200 a metric ton (MT) on paper by the end of 2019. Strong U.S. production kept prices in the U.S. low. The steep decline for U.S. propane decoupled it from delivered prices in Asia in early December. Using spot freight, that initially left the calculated cost of U.S. product delivered into the region $35/MT below delivered prices on the FEI.
U.S. Exports More Crude, Petroleum Products Than Imports in September
Thursday, January 9, 2020
(January 9, 2020) — The U.S. exported 89,000 bbld more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported in September, the first month this has happened since monthly records began in 1973, reports the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency explains that net petroleum trade is calculated as total imports of crude oil and petroleum products, less total exports of crude oil and petroleum products.
Energy Transfer, SemGroup Complete Merger Transaction
Thursday, January 2, 2020
(January 3, 2020) — Energy Transfer LP (Dallas) and SemGroup Corp. (Tulsa) have announced the completion of their merger. The terms of the agreement were approved by holders of a majority of SemGroup’s outstanding voting stock Dec. 4. As a result of the merger, Energy Transfer issued about 57.6 million of its common units to SemGroup stockholders. Effective with the opening of the market Dec. 5, SemGroup ceased to be a publicly traded company and its stock was no longer traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Enterprise and Enbridge Eye Developing Export Terminal
Thursday, January 2, 2020
(January 2, 2020) — Enterprise Products Partners LP (Houston) and Enbridge Inc. (Calgary) announced Dec. 9 that their affiliates had signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a deep-water crude oil terminal in the Gulf of Mexico capable of fully loading very large crude carriers, or VLCCs.
November 2019 Propane Stocks Hold Above Historical Levels
Monday, December 30, 2019
(December 30, 2019) — The National Propane Gas Association’s (NPGA) November Inventory Trends report reviews that primary U.S. propane/propylene stocks hovered around the 100 MMbbl mark on a weekly basis throughout October before falling to 97.7 MMbbl the week ended Nov. 8. Over this same period propane prices increased in absolute terms and strengthened relative to crude.
Boulden Brothers Propane Acquired By Chesapeake Utilities Subsidiary Sharp Energy
Friday, December 27, 2019
Dover, DE (December 27, 2019) — Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) recently announced that its propane subsidiary, Sharp Energy, executed an agreement to acquire the propane operating assets of Boulden Brothers Propane in Newark, Delaware. The parties closed the transaction December 13, 2019. Terms of the transaction were not publicly disclosed.
Connecticut Propane & Petroleum Acquires Phoenix Propane
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
KENT, CONNECTICUT (December 24, 2019) — Cetane Associates LLC recently announced that Connecticut Propane & Petroleum, LLC of Marlborough, Connecticut has acquired the propane distribution business of Phoenix Propane, LLC of Oxford, Connecticut.

Founded in 2010, Phoenix Propane, LLC markets propane and related products to approximately 2,000 residential and commercial customers located within Fairfield, Lower Litchfield, and Western New Haven counties of Connecticut.
Unharvested Corn Is Latest Blow from Growing Season
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Heavy snow in parts of the northern U.S. could prevent some farmers from harvesting the rest of their corn and soybeans until 2020 in the latest weather-related blow to growers, notes the Longview News-Journal.
TSP Winner of PERC’s Project of the Year Award
Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has presented TSP, an architecture and engineering firm with offices in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, with its 2019 Project of the Year award. The accolade recognizes residential and commercial projects powered by propane.
Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) Undergoes Exciting Changes In 2020
Sunday, December 15, 2019
(December 17, 2019) — The industry’s long-standing Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) is undergoing exciting changes in the way it delivers safety education and compliance material to the propane industry workforce. In a letter to industry professionals, Eric Kuster, vice president of safety, education and compliance at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), announced plans underway to make workforce training and certification better, faster, and cheaper.
Growmark Acquires Terminal From Plains LPG Services
Sunday, December 15, 2019
(December 16, 2019) — Retail and wholesale propane customers in the tristate area of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri will soon see a new name on the terminal outside Fort Madison, Iowa. Growmark Inc. (Bloomington, Ill.) has reached an agreement with Plains LPG Services LP to acquire the facility. Growmark, a farmer-owned cooperative, owns five other terminals in Iowa, South Dakota, Ohio, and Missouri.