(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM – 15th Mar, 2025) WASHINGTON, 14th March, 2025 (WAM) – U.S. propane exports averaged a record 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2024, the most since it began collecting this data in 1973, according to figures released by U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. propane exports increased for each of the last 17 years, with growth driven by higher demand in East Asia, mainly China, and a widening propane price differential between U.S. and global benchmarks. Propane is consumed globally in the residential and commercial sectors for uses such as space heating. It’s also used as a petrochemical feedstock to produce propylene and ethylene, key feedstocks in plastic production.
Infrastructure investments have also played a crucial role in accommodating growing shipments. Expansion projects at U.S. propane export terminals that started up in 2019 and in 2023 have allowed U.S. exports to increase by more than 700,000 b/d. U.S. propane exports surpassed 2 million b/d in November 2024 for the first time, as petrochemical and space heating demand in Asia increased.
Annual U.S. propane exports to Asia grew 13% in 2024 compared with 2023, a 131,000-b/d increase, with most going to Japan, South Korea, and China. Chinese consumption accounts for most of the growth in U.S. exports to Asia; U.S. propane exports to China grew by 40% in 2024. Increasing propane exports to Asia are driven in part by the region’s increasing demand for propylene. Propylene is used to manufacture polypropylene, a versatile plastic used in many products including car interiors, packaging, and personal protective equipment.
Propane demand in China has grown rapidly, reflecting a wave of new propane dehydrogenation units, which manufacture propane into propylene. In 2024, most of the propane imports into China originated in the United States (32%), followed by Iran (17%), Qatar (7%), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (3%).
U.S. propane exports to Europe stayed relatively flat from 2023 to 2024. U.S. propane exports to Europe reached over 200,000 b/d in 2023, a new record, and averaged nearly the same amount in 2024.
