Year in Review 2023 – Highlights from the Blog
In the second half of 2023, the Westlark Advisors team kicked off a series of blogs and educational studies via our website (www.westlarkadvisors.com). As we close out this year, we wanted to give a brief review of four major themes from these posts.
1. Meet the Team
If you didn’t know the Westlark Advisors team before this year, you do now! We highlighted Westlark Advisors team members Tina Schmitt, Gabriel Amundarain, Kristal Myers, and Matt Adams. Three of these team members – Kristal, Matt, and Tina – have been with Westlark Advisors for over 6 years, helping clients make smart decisions every day. Our newest team member – Gabriel – has extensive experience in the oil and gas industry in South America and is helping Westlark Advisors expand into new markets.
2. Exploring Central and South American Energy Markets
Speaking of new markets, in the last two months of 2023 we highlighted the propane market in the nation of Colombia (Part 1, Part 2/Parte 1, Parte 2). This series will continue in 2024 as we explore other South and Central American propane markets and show how they are interconnected with the U.S. markets.
3. Heart of American Energy Symposium
Westlark Advisors hosted the Heart of America (HOA) Energy Symposium in September. This event was held in Kansas City immediately before the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Benchmarking meeting. Our guests at the HOA Energy Symposium were the first to hear from Warren Wilczewski regarding the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) substantial change to propane data reporting. Starting near the end of 2023, the EIA will begin separating propane available for sale and propane still needing to be refined or processed. The addition of this necessary statistic is the result of a seven-year effort by Warren and other EIA team members.
To close out the symposium, our Westlark Advisors president spoke on how climate regulations are changing the propane markets. Whether it is renewable propane or carbon credits, the future of propane is changing, and Westlark Advisors will be there to assist clients through that process.
4. Carbon Credits
Finally, the major blog series of 2023 involved our closing topic at the HOA Energy Symposium – Carbon Credits. We presented an 8-part series describing carbon credits. This series detailed how they work, how they can benefit your company, and how to purchase them (Part 1, Part 2). Because carbon credits are often more affordable and more accessible than renewable propane, this series became the center piece of our 2023 blog posts. Any propane distributor wanting to transition to a carbon neutral business quickly and efficiently should investigate using carbon credits.
Coming in 2024
What’s in store for 2024? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!
But here are a few hints. . .
- Ongoing research outside of North America.
- Updates on the carbon market.
- News regarding the ever-changing propane market.
Keep this page bookmarked and watch for updates on Linkedin for the newest posts in 2024!
