Updates port status in first paragraph, adds background in fourth.
Vessel movements that were suspended on the Texas Gulf coast over the weekend due to freezing conditions largely resumed Monday at the Houston Ship Channel and near Nederland, Texas.
Shipping agents report the Houston Ship Channel, home to Enterprise Products and Targa's LPG export facilities, reopened to outbound traffic this morning. Two-way shipments on the Neches River, home to Enterprise's ethane export facility and Energy Transfer's Nederland LPG and ethane export terminal, also resumed early Monday.
The US relies on exports of both LPG and ethane to keep oversupplied markets balanced, and any disruptions to shipping can weigh on prices, particularly for propane, at Mont Belvieu, Texas. The facilities impacted by the inclement weather account for roughly 1.8mn b/d of LPG export capacity.
Winter delays at loading facilities are not uncommon, and it is usually prolonged periods of sea fog that cause the greatest disruptions to LPG exports during the first quarter of the year. Unlike the February freeze of 2021, which according to Kpler data caused a 24pc decline in LPG exports that month, this weekend's freeze did not result in major power outages that would hinder loading equipment.
The winter storm, which led to freezing conditions throughout Texas beginning the evening of 24 January, also contributed to disruptions at natural gas plants throughout west Texas. Filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) show at least 17 gas processing plants flaring or otherwise reporting curtailments to operations owing to the cold weather during the weekend. Most of those outages were less than a day in duration, however.
Mont Belvieu, Texas, January EPC ethane opened 2.375¢/USG higher at 28.5¢/USG early Monday but fell as low as 26.625¢/USG by midday. January EPC propane at Mont Belvieu opened 0.125¢/USG lower at 64.5¢/USG and traded between 64.125-65.25¢/USG during the morning.
