Propane

By Stephen Bennett To venture into propane marketing with the mindset of a fuel oil marketer is a big mistake, advises Mike Taylor of Combined Energy Services, a company in Monticello, N.Y., that has marketed both fuels since the early 1970s. “Oil gallons are slowly diminishing over time,” but fuel oil marketers should resist seeing propane as “the great pie ...

Excerpted from This Week in Petroleum- Oct. 28, 2015 The combination of significant U.S. propane production increases over the past seven years and relatively slow domestic demand growth has reversed historical trade positions. The United States has gone from being a net propane importer to a net exporter, facilitated by rapid expansion in export capacity of domestic supply. Propane exports ...

Operational realities of the propane business can give heating oil dealers who are new to it plenty to reckon with, says an expert. By Stephen Bennett Launching a propane business is a six- to eight-year proposition and, “in the first three years you’re going to bleed money,” says Sean Cota, managing director of Cetane Associates, a company based in Kent, ...

By Stephen Bennett Shane Sweet once worked for a heating oil company in southwestern Vermont that acquired a propane business. It was the mid 1980s and building was booming. “For the first two years we didn’t run an ad in the paper,” said Sweet, now the executive director of the New York Propane Gas Association. That was because they didn’t ...

By Stephen Bennett Regulatory agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Energy have issued proposals that the National Propane Gas Association, is supporting energetically, fighting avidly or monitoring closely, sometimes in conjunction with other trade groups. Sarah Arena, director of regulatory affairs for the NPGA, said the DOT initiatives have ...

The financing conundrum of a propane endeavor.

Courtesy of PGANE While NPGA’s State Affairs program has focused on industry priorities such as preventing natural gas expansion and capitalizing on autogas opportunities, there are a collection of propane-specific bills that have been watched closely over the past months. With almost half of the legislatures now adjourned for the year, there are some positive things to report.  Congratulations to ...

As fuel oil dealers diversify, some bulk plant operators are doing the same.

By Nicholas Upton Thriving in the heating oil business is a tough job these days, but when you’re selling to a market that is incredibly environmentally focused, it can be even tougher. Yet Steven T. Clark at Genesee Fuel & Heating Company in Seattle is thriving through smart marketing, innovation and growing through close industry involvement. The company has a ...

After one of the toughest winters on record, Mark Limoges was pleased that the project was ready to go when the bad weather hit.