The U.S. propane market typically follows predictable trends. With much of domestic demand occurring in the colder months, storage builds in the summer and is withdrawn in the winter. But since mid-April, storage levels have increased by only 1.2 MMbbl. Today, we explore what is going on and why.
The U.S. propane market is in a unique position. Production has continued to grow while domestic demand remains stagnant. The only solution for the market to balance is exports; however, those have been constrained by capacity at the dock. Today, we continue our examination of the propane market.
Supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf have sent global propane prices soaring, sharply widening the spread between international and U.S. prices. That has created a major opening for U.S. exporters, but with spot terminal fees at record highs as key export hubs already running near capacity, upside is constrained by loading capacity.
Houston and Corpus Christi dominate crude oil exports, but the balance between the two hot spots has been shifting in interesting ways recently. In Houston, Enterprise could extend its lead and in Corpus Christi, South Texas Gateway is fighting for the top spot after adding a new pipeline connection last fall.
The long-anticipated return of Enterprise’s Midland to ECHO 2 Pipeline to crude service is underway, bringing 220 Mb/d online for the first time since the end of 2023. This coincides with Enterprise’s new NGL line, the Bahia Pipeline, which began operations in December.
U.S. Gulf Coast ethane exports were up sharply in September thanks to the startup of new export terminals in Texas. The surge in export volumes contributed to an 8% increase in ethane prices between July and September and a similar jump in the ratio between ethane and natural gas. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how the recent additions to export capacity have impacted prices and review the basics of ethane economics.
A crude oil leak last Tuesday at the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal disrupted regional flows and caused crude differentials to move higher over the course of the week. While the spill was swiftly addressed by terminal owner Enterprise Products Partners, it still affected inbound and outbound operations for a few days. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the role of the ECHO terminal and show how even an isolated incident can quickly have an impact on the market.
The Wink to Webster Pipeline, operated by ExxonMobil, stands out as the largest crude oil pipeline by capacity exiting the prolific Permian Basin in West Texas. What makes it even more of a midstream icon is the company’s hands-on management of the entire process, from the production well to the long-haul run to delivery to ExxonMobil’s refineries. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine Wink to Webster’s complicated ownership structure, how it connects directly to terminals run by its owners and its destination flexibility.
It looks like the U.S. ethane market may have just dodged a bullet. Since late May, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security effectively banned ethane exports to China, the destination for two-thirds of the ethane sent out of Gulf Coast docks — about 225 Mb/d in 2024. Ethane has become a bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations over rare earths and tariffs, in part because China has no alternative source of waterborne ethane feedstock for its petchems. But playing the ethane card presented a potential problem for the U.S. too. While China isn’t the only export market for U.S. ethane, there are very limited other destinations for the volumes they typically take. The need to find a home for those volumes could have required significantly more “rejection” of ethane into natural gas at U.S. gas processing plants — i.e., selling ethane for its fuel value instead of recovering it for petchems or export. In today’s RBN blog, we examine the ethane export issue, which remains in flux as part of the broader U.S.-China trade agreement still being finalized.
As crude oil pipelines from the Permian to the Gulf Coast edge closer to full utilization, it’s becoming a challenge for producers and shippers alike. Amid this capacity crunch, converting Enterprise’s Midland to ECHO 2 (M2E-2) pipeline back to crude oil service can’t come quickly enough. In today’s RBN blog — the latest in our series on Permian crude oil pipelines — we discuss Enterprise’s crude oil footprint from West Texas to Houston.
