US To Be Net Exporter of Propane, Butane -- First Time In US History -- Yah, It's The Bakken

Bloomberg is reporting:

The U.S. is poised to become a net exporter of liquefied petroleum gases for the first year ever as shale-based energy production jumps, prompting new orders for specialized ships to haul propane and butane.

Daily LPG shipments equated to a record 194,000 barrels in last year’s first 11 months, outpacing imports at 169,700 barrels, U.S. Energy Information Administration figures show. That’s the first time the country was a net exporter in records going back to 1973, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Total seaborne trade in LPG will come to 100.6 million metric tons this year, up about 16 percent from 2010, estimates by German transportation lender DVB Bank SE show. U.S. exports will exceed 5 million tons this year, against 3.7 million tons in 2012, before reaching 7 million tons next year, London-based shipbroker Braemar Seascope Ltd. predicts.

“After that, it’s anybody’s guess,” Nick Wright, a shipbroker at Braemar who specializes in organizing charters for gas carriers hauling LPG, said by phone Feb. 13. “Some have predicted they’ll be as much as 20 million tons by 2020.”

Associated article: Bloomberg is also reporting that Russia will raise the export duty on oil in March. Buried at the very bottom of the article, the last paragraph:

The government may lower the duty on liquefied petroleum gases such as butane and propane to $131.40 a ton from $200.30.  

I'm usually wrong on these things, but this certainly suggests the increasing LNG (propane and butane) being exported by the US is having an effect on world pricing. A drop from $200 to $130 seems like a significant drop.