AltaGas in talks with more Asian customers to supply fuels from B.C. terminal: CEO

The AltaGas Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, about 10 km south of Prince Rupert, B.C., is seen in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - AltaGas, Lonnie Wishart (Mandatory Credit)

CALGARY — The chief executive of AltaGas Ltd. says the company is in talks with customers in India, Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian markets to supply Canadian propane and butane.

Vern Yu said in an interview on the sidelines of the Global Energy Show this week that many places in Asia are “materially short” on those fuels used widely for cooking and transport.

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He says the United States has historically been the biggest supplier of those products to the region, with the Middle East also playing a big role.

But Yu says between trade grievances with the U.S. and war cutting off supplies from the Persian Gulf, Asian customers are looking to diversify and Canada has a shorter shipping distance working in its favour.

AltaGas opened Canada’s first propane export facility near Prince Rupert, B.C., in 2019, initially sending cargoes to Japan and South Korea and recently making inroads into China and other Asian countries.

Yu says construction is about three-quarters complete on an adjacent project called the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility, which aims to start exporting both propane and butane later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ALA)

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press