AltaGas expands propane customer reach in Asia as supply shocks continue

CALGARY — AltaGas Ltd. says it recently delivered its first propane cargo to Indonesia as the ongoing squeeze in Mideast supplies stokes interest in Canadian exports among a broader customer set in Asia.

“This supply disruption has driven more conversations with our Asian customers who are now placing increased value on energy security, which highlights Canada as one of the most reliable sources of global (liquefied petroleum gas) supply,” CEO Vern Yu told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

The Calgary-based company opened Canada’s first propane export facility near Prince Rupert, B.C., in 2019, with Japan and South Korea its key customers for several years. Shipments to China have rapidly grown over the past year, thanks to the onslaught of tariffs the United States unleashed against trading partners.

Mideast supply disruptions have accelerated that trend, Yu said.

Canada’s market share for propane in China has grown from nil to 11 per cent in the span of 18 months and AltaGas represents 10 per cent of China’s year-to-date imports of that fuel.

And interest is now picking up elsewhere.

“Since the onset of the conflict in Iran, we’ve seen incremental demand from markets that have historically relied on Middle Eastern supply. This includes multiple countries in Southeast Asia,” Yu said.

“We’re also advancing discussions in South Asia where customers are looking for long-term supply diversification opportunities. This growing and diversified demand for Canadian (liquefied petroleum gases) reinforces the value of AltaGas’ global export platform.”

Fuels like propane and butane can be categorized as liquefied petroleum gases, or LPGs. The molecules can be separated out of natural gas at processing plants — a big part of AltaGas’ business — or can be a byproduct of oil refining.

LPGs are not to be confused with liquefied natural gas, or LNG. That involves chilling methane so it can be shipped by sea in liquid form on specialized tankers.

AltaGas said in an investor presentation that almost one third of global LPG supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the open sea. Tanker traffic has all but halted since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February.

East Asian propane prices are up more than 60 per cent compared with before the conflict began. And given the damage done to infrastructure in various Gulf states, about a million barrels per day of Middle East LPG supply is at risk of longer-term disruption, the presentation said.

At the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal south of Prince Rupert, B.C., AltaGas exported a record of more than 88,600 barrels per day of the fuel to Asia spread across 14 tankers during the first three months of this year.

Construction is three-quarters complete on an adjacent project called the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility, or REEF. There, the company and its partner, Netherlands-based Vopak, aim to export both propane and butane initially, adding other products in the future.

Earlier Thursday, AltaGas reported $147 million in net income applicable to common shares for the first quarter, down from $392 million in the same period last year, weighed down by unrealized losses on its risk management contracts.

The profit amounted to 47 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, down from $1.31 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

On a normalized basis, AltaGas says it earned $1.33 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from $1.14 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $3.97 billion, the same as the first quarter of 2025.

In its outlook, AltaGas raised its guidance for capital spending for 2026 to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion, as it expands the Dimsdale gas storage facility in northwestern Alberta.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.

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