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
