First VLGC powered by LPG headed from US toward Panama Canal: Platts cFlow
The first VLGC powered by liquefied petroleum gas was headed toward the Panama Canal Dec. 17 after loading at Enterprise Products Partners’ hydrocarbon terminal on the Houston Ship Channel, Platts trade flow software cFlow showed.
Already the world’s largest propane exporter, Enterprise’s achievement provides another demand source for US shale supplies by allowing large vessels to refuel with LPG at the loading dock instead of making an additional stop at a bunkering facility.
Amid the global energy transition to cleaner-burning renewable energy, Enterprise also sees increased exports of LPG and use of LPG in fueling vessels as a way to cut carbon emissions when compared with using carbon-intensive sources such as coal and wood. It said in October that LPG export demand, particularly to Asia, has remained resilient despite the market shocks from the coronavirus pandemic.