Definitions, Sources and Explanatory Notes

 Category:   Petroleum Prices
 Topic:   All Sellers Propane (Consumer Grade) Prices by Sales Type

  Definitions

Key Terms Definition
Commercial/Institutional An energy-consuming sector that consists of service-providing facilities and equipment of: businesses; Federal, State, and local governments; and other private and public organizations, such as religious, social, or fraternal groups. The commercial sector includes institutional living quarters. It also includes sewage treatment facilities. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a wide variety of other equipment. Note: This sector includes generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the activities of the above-mentioned commercial establishments.
Gas Plant Operator Any firm, including a gas plant owner, which operates a gas plant and keeps the gas plant records. A gas plant is a facility in which natural gas liquids are separated from natural gas or in which natural gas liquids are fractionated or otherwise separated into natural gas liquid products or both. For the purposes of this survey, gas plant operator data are contained in the refiner categories.
Industrial An energy-consuming sector that consists of all facilities and equipment used for producing, processing, or assembling goods The industrial sector encompasses the following types of activity: manufacturing (NAICS codes 31-33); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (NAICS code 11); mining, including oil and gas extraction (NAICS code 21); natural gas distribution (NAICS code 2212); and construction (NAICS code 23). Overall energy use in this sector is largely for process heat and cooling and powering machinery, with lesser amounts used for facility heating, air conditioning, and lighting. Fossil fuels are also used as raw material inputs to manufactured products. Note: This sector includes generators that produce electricity and/or useful thermal output primarily to support the above-mentioned industrial activities.
Other End Users For motor gasoline, all direct sales to end users other than those made through company outlets. For No. 2 distillate, all direct sales to end users other than residential, commercial/institutional, industrial sales, and sales through company outlets. Included in the "other end users" category are sales to utilities and agricultural users.
Petro-Chemical Sales of propane to a manufacturer of chemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas, or from raw materials derived from petroleum or natural gas.
Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD): PADD 1 (East Coast):
   PADD 1A (New England): Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.
   PADD 1B (Central Atlantic): Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
   PADD 1C (Lower Atlantic): Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia.
PADD 2 (Midwest): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin.
PADD 3 (Gulf Coast): Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas.
PADD 4 (Rocky Mountain): Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming.
PADD 5 (West Coast): Alaska (North Slope and Other Mainland), Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.
Price (Unit Price) Total revenue derived from the sale of product during the reference month divided by the total volume sold; also known as the weighted average price. Total revenue should exclude all taxes but include transportation costs that were paid as part of the purchase price.
Propane (Consumer Grade) A normally gaseous paraffinic compound (C3H8), which includes all products covered by Natural Gas Policy Act Specifications for commercial and HD-5 propane and ASTM Specification D 1835. It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of -43.67 degrees Fahrenheit. It does not include the propane portion of any natural gas liquid mixes, i.e., butane-propane mix.
Refiner A firm or the part of a firm that refines products or blends and substantially changes products, or refines liquid hydrocarbons from oil and gas field gases, or recovers liquefied petroleum gases incident to petroleum refining and sells those products to resellers, retailers, reseller/retailers or ultimate consumers. "Refiner" includes any owner of products that contracts to have those products refined and then sells the refined products to resellers, retailers, or ultimate consumers. For the purposes of this survey, gas plant operator data are included in this category.
Reseller A firm (other than a refiner) that is engaged in a trade or business that buys refined petroleum products and then sells them to a purchaser who is not the ultimate consumer of those refined products.
Residential An energy-consuming sector that consists of living quarters for private households. Common uses of energy associated with this sector include space heating, water heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and running a variety of other appliances. The residential sector excludes institutional living quarters.
Retail Outlet Any company-owned outlet (e.g., service station) selling gasoline, on-highway diesel fuel, or propane for on-highway vehicle use which is under the direct control of the firm filing the EIA-782 by virtue of the ability to set the retail product price and directly collect all or part of the retail margin. This category includes retail outlets: (1) being operated by salaried employees of the company and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates, and/or (2) involving personnel services contracted by the firm.
Retailer A firm (other than a refiner, reseller, or reseller/retailer) that carries on the trade or business of purchasing refined petroleum products and reselling them to ultimate consumers without substantially changing their form.
Sale The transfer of title from the seller to a buyer for a price. Excludes intrafirm transfers, products consumed directly by the reporting firm, or sales of bonded fuel. Also excludes products delivered/loaned to exchange partners, except where the amount supplied exceeds the amount received and the differential is invoiced as a sale during the reference month.
Sales for Resale Sales of refined petroleum products to purchasers who are other-than-ultimate consumers; wholesale sales.
Sales to End Users Sales made directly to the consumer of the product. Includes bulk consumers, such as agriculture, industry, and utilities, as well as residential and commercial consumers.

For definitions of related energy terms, refer to the EIA Energy Glossary.

  Sources

Energy Information Administration, Forms EIA-782A, "Refiners'/Gas Plant Operators' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report" and EIA-782B, "Resellers'/Retailers' Monthly Petroleum Product Sales Report." ( Form/Instructions, Background, Survey Methodology and Statistical Details )

  Explanatory Notes

  • Values shown for the current month are preliminary. Values shown for the previous month may be revised to account for late submissions and corrections and are considered final. Annual averages will be available in the April Petroleum Marketing Monthly.
  • The 4th quarter of 1993 was a transitional period between the predecessor EIA-782 survey and the revised EIA-782 survey system. The revised survey system contains additional product and sales categories, which may not be consistent with categories derived from the predecessor survey system. Beginning January 1994 all data are from the revised survey system and are consistent.
  • Map of PAD Districts and Federal/State motor fuel tax table from the Petroleum Marketing Monthly.