U.S. Propane Inventories Climb Another 1.9 MMbbl

U.S. propane stocks the week ended Aug. 22 added another 1.9 MMbbl, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Aug. 27 “This Week in Petroleum” report. As of that reporting period, the nation’s supplies stood at 74.7 MMbbl, 12.6 MMbbl, or 20.4%, higher than a year ago. Gulf Coast volumes increased by 1 MMbbl, the Midwest by 0.6 MMbbl, and the East Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast region by 0.1 MMbbl each. Propylene non-fuel-use volumes represented 5% of total propane inventories, off from 5.5% the previous week.

The nation’s propane production for the week was at 1.562 MMbbld, up just minimally week over week but higher by about 0.15 MMbbld compared to last year. East Coast production was at 0.157 MMbbld, the Midwest 0.338 MMbbld, and the Gulf Coast 0.903 MMbbld. Although there was little variation between the current and prior week, East Coast production dipped a bit and the Midwest and Gulf Coast improved slightly. For the year, the East Coast and Gulf Coast each showed increases approaching 0.1 MMbbld, while the Midwest rose just marginally.

Propane imports were at a paltry 0.066 MMbbld, just higher than a week earlier and falling just under the year-ago total. The East Coast received 0.019 MMbbld and the Midwest 0.034 MMbbld. U.S. propane demand for the week ended Aug. 22 stood at 0.985 MMbbld, up nearly 0.2 MMbbld from the previous week but falling nearly 0.26 MMbbld from last year.