CALGARY — With much of Canada’s current energy discussion focused on the West Coast pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, AltaGas’ president and CEO says the country’s propane industry is already showing how Canadian energy can successfully compete in the Asian market.Vern Yu told an audience at the Global Energy Show in Calgary that his company had entered the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export business in 2019 after identifying a major opportunity created by rising Asian demand and stagnant North American consumption.At the time, Canadian propane exports were largely destined for the US.However, Yu says AltaGas believed producers could earn better returns by reaching customers across the Pacific.“Effectively, Canadian LPGs became the cheapest LPGs in the world, and there was a huge opportunity to increase the netbacks for our customers by finding a new market,” Yu said.“Asia imports three million barrels a day of propane, and right now two-thirds of it has historically come from the US. A third of it has historically come from the Middle East. So there's a huge opportunity for Canada to play a big role in supplying these LPGs.”Yu said the current demand for LPG was not only driven by industrial activity but also by increased household energy demands in developing countries..Smith talks vision for Alberta energy expansion beyond oil and gas.“Eighty percent of people in India use propane to cook their food,” he said.“Ninety percent of people in Indonesia use propane to cook their food, and they're moving away from coal, charcoal, and wood. So by having this LPG go to these markets, we're also reducing overall climate footprint. It's a huge and exciting opportunity.”He added that Canada’s propane exporters enjoy many of the same advantages now being promoted by LNG developers, including shorter shipping routes to Asia and access to large energy reserves.“We have the same structural advantage that LNG players have, where we’re able to get the product on a much faster route,” he said.“The fact that we have the cheapest propane in the world, there is a tremendous advantage for the Canadian economy to go to Asia.”Yu did, however, caution that Canada’s ability to capitalize on the growing demand will depend on how quickly governments can approve and build new energy infrastructure, saying that the US is pursuing similar goals at an even faster rate.“What we have to be mindful of is that our biggest competition is south of the border, and the US is seized with even more regulatory reform,” Yu said.“We can't just rest on our laurels and say, ‘Hey, we're doing a better job than we were doing before,’ we have to be mindful of what else is happening in the world.”
