US LPG exports fall as temperatures dive

Freezing weather on the US Gulf coast halted vessel movements on Texas' Houston Ship Channel and Neches River over 24-25 January, temporarily slowing LPG exports and output. The Houston Ship Channel is home to LPG export terminals operated by midstream firms Enterprise Products and Targa, while the Neches River is home to Enterprise's ethane terminal and peer Energy Transfer's Nederland LPG and ethane facility — together accounting for around 1.8mn b/d (57mn t/yr) of LPG export capacity. Shipping on the two routes reopened on 26 January. The cold weather also disrupted 17 natural gas processing plants in west Texas, but most outages lasted less than a day. Mont Belvieu propane prices had fallen to 66.6¢/USG by 26 January.