US physical trade in ethane, propane, rose in 2024

: LPG, Petrochemicals
25/01/09

Growing natural gas liquids (NGL) production in the US last year led to higher volumes of physical trading for ethane and propane in 2024, according to Argus data.

Volumes of physical ethane traded at the Enterprise (EPC) storage cavern in Texas surged last year by 43pc to 90.12mn bl from 63.2mn bl in 2023, according to trades recorded by Argus.

The gains in physical in-well trading activity at Mont Belvieu, the world's largest storage hub for the feedstock, came even as spot ethane prices fell in 2024 to an average of 19.03¢/USG, down from 24.59¢/USG the previous year, on the back of production gains and weaker prices for natural gas. US ethane production from gas processing averaged 2.8mn b/d in the first 10 months of 2024, up from 2.64mn b/d during the same period in 2023, according to the latest US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

Gains in US ethane production come amid growing demand from petrochemical buyers in China and Europe, which has bolstered US ethane exports and led to additional investments by both Enterprise Products Partners and Energy Transfer in additional dock capacity for the feedstock. US ethane exports averaged 478,800 b/d in the first 10 months of 2024, down by 1.8pc from 487,600 b/d in 2023, due in part to loading delays associated with tie-in work for additional refrigeration at Gulf coast facilities. But exports in January-October 2024 were up by 17pc from the same period in 2022 on additional term contracts with international ethylene producers.

Higher trading volumes in 2024 were not limited to ethane. Physical in-well trading of propane at Energy Transfer's LST storage cavern in Mont Belvieu rose by 30pc to 44.7mn bl in 2024, and in-well trading of propane at Enterprise's EPC storage cavern rose by 19pc to 68.3mn bl in 2024 versus 2023, according to trades recorded by Argus.

US propane production from gas processing averaged 2.13mn b/d in January-October 2024, according to the latest available EIA data, up from 2mn b/d during the same period in 2023.

LST and EPC propane prices rose in 2024 versus 2023 alongside increases in crude. Prompt-month LST propane averaged 77.12¢/USG during 2024, up from 71.13¢/USG in 2023. EPC propane averaged 77.63¢/USG in 2024, up from 70.83¢/USG in 2023.

Argus publishes volume-weighted averages of physical trading at Mont Belvieu in addition to daily ranges. Ethane's traded midpoint averaged a 0.009¢/USG premium over the volume-weighted average in 2024. LST propane's traded range averaged a 0.037¢/USG discount to the volume-weighted average, and EPC propane's traded midpoint averaged a 0.143¢/USG discount to the volume-weighted average last year.

By Amy Strahan

Physical trading '000 bl

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25/07/11

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Mass-balance consultation questions remain: BlueAlp

25/07/11

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Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August

25/07/11

Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August

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Europe ELV directive may not be ambitious enough: EuRIC

25/07/09

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EU opens chemical recycling mass balance consultation

25/07/08

EU opens chemical recycling mass balance consultation

London, 8 July (Argus) — The European Commission has opened a public consultation on chemical recycling, specifically related to a proposed update to the implementing decision for the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD). The draft update includes rules for mass-balance accounting of chemically-recycled content towards the SUPD's recycled content targets, and would allow recyclates produced from non-EU post-consumer waste to count towards EU targets. The commission is seeking feedback on a proposed fuel use-excluded approach to mass balance accounting. In this, the amount of circular feedstock eligible to be assigned as recycled content to polymers would be calculated by taking the amount fed into a steam cracker and assigning it to one of four output groups — non-fuels, fuels, losses and dual-use outputs — based on the proportion of each that the cracker produces. Cracker operators could then allocate an amount of recycled content — sometimes termed by market participants as recycled credits — to their products, equal to the amount of eligible feedstock assigned to the non-fuels output group, or to any dual-use outputs that can be provably shown to be retained in the chemical/polymer chain rather than entering the fuels chain. The draft document also lays out rules for allocating recycled content to cracker feedstock where mass balance accounting is required before the steam cracker stage of the polymer production process, which Argus understands to be a reference to refining or pre-treatment of pyrolysis oil. This would be based on the amount of recycled feedstock input into the refining or pre-treatment plant that evaporates below the maximum feedstock boiling point the intended steam cracker customer can accept, as a ratio to the total amount of material input into the former plant. The same ratio of recycled content could then be applied to materials supplied to the steam cracker customer. Basing allocation of recycled content on input before the steam cracker stage, rather than output, would appear to open the door to processing of pyrolysis oil in refineries that produce mainly fuels, without a large proportion of credits being lost to the fuels pool under fuel use-exempt rules. Argus is seeking clarification on this. In addition to the mass balance rules, the draft extends the definition of post-consumer plastic waste to include that produced from products placed on the market outside the EU. This would align the definition with that used in the recently-adopted Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and mean recyclates based on non-EU waste could count towards the 25pc recycled content for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles contained in the SUPD. The consultation will run until 19 August. By Will Collins Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US physical trade in ethane, propane, rose in 2024

Related news posts

Canada focuses on new US deadline, diversifying trade

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