How Big A Deal Is The Expanded Panama Canal For The US? Huge -- June 27, 2017

How big a deal is the "new and improved" Panama Canal for the US? Huge.  

By 2018 US exports of LPG will likely equal those of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates combined.

See the update the original post.

China is already the biggest single customer for US propane and second-biggest for LPG and the ability to move these volumes more efficiently will likely only increase that flow. 

EIA data show trade to both China and Japan having already accelerated before the canal expansion’s opening. LPG shipments to Japan more than tripled to 166,000 b/d in the first 3 months of 2016 from 49,000 b/d for the same period last year. Shipments to China jumped to 161,000 b/d from 66,000 b/d in the same window.

December 31, 2018, is less than 3 years from now; the second full year of Hillary's presidency. Things are moving very, very quickly.

As a reminder, the difference between propane and LPG:

Propane is a byproduct of natural gas processing and petroleum refining. Before propane is used, it exists in one of two forms, liquid or gas (or vapor). Both liquid propane and gas are usable but cannot be used interchangeably. In other words, a propane system designed to use gas can’t utilize propane in its liquid form and vice-versa. Additionally, the characteristics of propane liquid and propane gas are so different that the primary properties we are concerned with are as different as night and day. With propane liquid, temperature is the primary factor whereas weight is the main concern regarding propane vapor. Think of it this way, water is liquid and steam is water vapor. The same holds true for propane and is explained in detail below.

Also:

Propane is classified as LPG, along with butane, isobutane and mixtures of these gases. 

This looks like a pretty good source for sorting this out. 

The Brexit? It's only "make-believe."

It's Only Make Believe, Conway Twitty