Canada exported 40.6mn bl of LPG in 2014: NEB

OREANDA-NEWS. July 07, 2015. Canada exported more than 33mn bl of propane and 7.6mn bl of butane in 2014, according to recent data from the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB).

Propane exports shrank by 9,800 b/d in 2014 to 90,477 b/d. The drop in exports was in part because of Kinder Morgan's reversal of the Cochin pipeline last summer, which closed one of Canada's primary propane export routes. Propane exports by pipeline consequently fell by 4.3mn bl to 7.3mn bl. Canadian exports to the US eastern seaboard fell as well.

Canada's butane exports rose to 21,007 b/d in 2014, up by 2,286 b/d year-on-year. Butane exports by truck grew by 40pc, reaching a total of roughly 204,000 bl last year. Volumes exported in railcars and via pipelines rose as well, up by 581,000 bl and 219,000 bl, respectively. More butane exports were reported to the US west coast, in part because of exports from the Petrogas terminal in Ferndale, Washington.

Exports of both products were generally highest in the winter months, except for in June 2014 when Canada exported a record amount of butane to the US.

Canada exported 14.8mn bl of propane and 2.3mn bl of butane from January to April 2015

Canadian LPG is exclusively exported to the US because of a lack of domestic export infrastructure.