Canadian Propane Inventories Retreat 41.6% in January, Butane Falls
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Canada’s primary underground propane inventories fell 41.6% in January 2020 to 445.1 Mcm, the equivalent of 2.8 MMbbl, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). The draw represented a month-to-month loss of 317.7 Mcm. Compared to a year earlier, stocks stood 397.1 Mcm lower, down 47.2%.
LPG Dual-Fuel Engine Design Granted Preliminary Approval
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has granted an approval in principle to Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI) for its LPG as Fuel system design. The design is for a dual-fuel vessel propulsion engine capable of using both marine diesel oil and LPG as fuel. KHI maintains the system simultaneously reduces fuel consumption and enables the power plant to meet nitrogen oxide Tier 3 emissions regulations.
Canadian Rail Blockades Result In Propane and Goods Shortages
Sunday, March 1, 2020
(March 2, 2020) — The Canadian Propane Association is urging federal and provincial governments to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that rail transportation of propane and other essential goods is not interrupted. The Association was responding to lengthy rail line blockades in eastern Canada tied to a First Nations protest against a planned natural gas pipeline. A blockade on Mohawk territory near Belleville, Ont. was stretching past its third week, shutting down rail service, including propane shipments, across much of the region.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduced At Marcus Hook
Friday, February 28, 2020
(February 28, 2020) — Energy Transfer Partners (Dallas) writes that thanks to continued coal plant retirements and an increased switch to natural gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in both the U.S. and the European Union dropped by 1.7% from 2018 to 2019, according to new data released by the Global Carbon Project. And from 2000 to 2018, the U.S. reduced its CO2 by nearly 10%.
Oberon Fuels, SHV Energy Partner for Renewable DME
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
(February 26, 2020) — Oberon Fuels (San Diego, Calif.), a producer of ultralow-carbon, renewable dimethyl ether (rDME) transportation fuel, and SHV Energy, a multinational company based in the Netherlands and one of the largest distributors of propane, and a pioneer of BioLPG, are partnering to accelerate the use of renewable DME. The move is to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuel.
Gulf of Mexico Seen Springing Back to Life
Monday, February 24, 2020
(February 24, 2020) — After stirring for 18 months, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico now appears to be springing back to life after years in virtual hibernation, as the region’s production rises and oil companies prepare for future growth even amid uncertain oil prices, writes S&P Global Platts. Crude output in the Gulf is at an all-time high, currently around 2 MMbbld, and it should roughly level out before rising again in 2021 from new deep-water fields coming online then, analysts report.
Trump Urges Europe to Reject Climate Pessimism
Monday, February 17, 2020
(February 17, 2020) — In a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump urged European nations to embrace U.S. energy imports and not succumb to pessimism on climate change, reports S&P Global Platts. Trump added that technological innovation would bring solutions.
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.