Weekly Market Features

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China

The ever‑evolving effects of the US/China trade affair – Week 19 2025

May 12, 2025

The announcement flow of U.S.–China trade updates continues to be intense. As the market has been diligently working to solve the U.S.‑to‑China propane‑exports reshuffling puzzle, a 90‑day truce—effective this week—was announced, cutting tariffs by 115% on both sides and setting China’s propane‑import duty at 10% [...]

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Petrochemicals

A closer look at Chinese petrochemical imports – Week 18 2025

May 05, 2025

Analysis of LPG imports into major terminal hubs in China which are linked to petrochemical facilities shows that despite reliance on US volume to meet the demand, there is still a significant volume imported from other regions such as the Middle East [...]

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Shipping

USTR fees on Chinese vessels: Limited LPG market impact – Week 17 2025

Apr 28, 2025

Earlier this year, the US government initially proposed potential levies of up to $1.5 million per voyage on Chinese-related vessels, which would have translated into an incremental cost of approximately $30/t in a VLGC market where trip rates from the US to the Far East hover around $100/t, creating a substantial cost hurdle. However, the mid-April announcement was considerably less stringent, and the projected impact on LPG markets is now expected to be minimal [...]

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Tariffs

Uncertainty remains the only constant – Week 15 2025

Apr 14, 2025

Last week, the US president announced a set of tariffs on imports into the US from a range of countries. The levies varied per country, but the main consideration for the LPG market was the tariff with China. In retaliation China imposed a 34% tariff on volume imported from the US to China. As the week went on, further announcements were made raising tariffs to 84% before a final increase to 125% by the end of the week [...]

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Tariffs

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Tariffs bring a whole new complexity to the market – Week 14 2025

Apr 07, 2025

Last week, President Trump announced tariffs for a range of countries importing certain products into the US including China. It is unclear the full extent of such announcements and the longevity of the tariffs, but NGLS discusses a range of scenarios to consider as a consequence, and the impact on the supply chain economics. [...]

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PDH

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Challenges ahead for China’s PDH sector as competition intensifies – Week 13 2025

Mar 31, 2025

China's propane dehydrogenation (PDH) sector saw a robust start to 2025, with propane demand for PDH operations in Jan-Feb 2025 maintaining levels comparable to those observed at the end of 2024 [...]

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Asia

Overview of Asian sentiment post international conferences – Week 12 2025

Mar 24, 2025

In March, NGLStrategy presented their views at two international conferences in Asia: the LP Gas Seminar in Tokyo, Japan, and the 30th China LPG International Conference in Guangzhou, China [...]

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Steam Cracking

The slow death of the European naphtha cracker – Week 11 2025

Mar 17, 2025

The recent and upcoming closure of naphtha crackers in Italy, France and the Netherlands highlights the accumulative effect of years of losses. According to our models, propane cracking margins have averaged $155-160/t ethylene, and margins for cracking imported US ethane have averaged $375-380/t ethylene – both more than sufficient to cover fixed costs as well [...]

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US

Can the US increase LPG production to meet the recently announced additional export terminal capacity by 2029? – Week 10 2025

Mar 10, 2025

The recent US export terminal announcements have sparked a key question: Can the US realistically export enough volumes to fill the upcoming terminal capacity, and can the global market absorb this supply? While this is a complex issue, we will simplify the assessment by focusing on US natural gas production and GPM (gallons per mcf) levels [...]

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Petrochemicals

European ethylene producers hope for higher rates in 2025 – Week 08 2025

Feb 24, 2025

Steam cracker permanent closures in 2024 and 2025, the temporary idling of some capacity and a small increase in ethylene derivative consumption, provide producers with hope that effective cracker operating rates will edge up in 2025 [...]

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Ethane

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The next wave of new ethane projects is expected from 2025 onwards – Week 07 2025

Feb 17, 2025

Ethane developments are on the cusp of a number of expansions for both supply and demand. Additional steam crackers are being added particularly in Asia which will use imported ethane as a feedstock, providing petrochemical players with an efficient ethylene production [...]

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US

New US LPG Terminal to Bolster Future Export Capacity – Week 06 2025

Feb 10, 2025

A significant development in the US LPG market was announced last week, as MPLX and ONEOK confirmed a 50/50 joint venture to construct a new LPG export terminal in Texas City. Designed with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (b/d), the terminal is scheduled to commence operations in early 2028 [...]

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