CER approves long-term butane export licence for AltaGas

June 23, 2022

The Commission of the CER approved an application from AltaGas to export up to 46,000 barrels per day of butane for 25 years. The Commission found that the butane resource in North America is large enough to ensure that Canadian demand for butane will be met over the 25 years of the licence. AltaGas must also get approval from the Minister of Natural Resources before the Commission can issue the export licence. [Filing C19687]

The CER publishes natural gas liquids market information and resource assessments throughout the year. Statistics on propane and butane export volumes, prices, and storage levels are published monthly.

What is Butane?

Butane is a natural gas liquid. When natural gas is removed from the ground, it is considered wet or dry. Wet natural gas has liquids such as butane, ethane or propane - to name a few. Dry natural gas contains very little amounts of natural gas liquids. Butane is separated from the other liquids and used in our daily lives and industry. Petrochemical processes turn butane into plastics and refineries blend it with gasoline to change the octane level.

 

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