Indian state-controlled oil marketing companies have raised commercial LPG cylinder prices for August after cutting prices for four consecutive months since April. A 19kg commercial LPG cylinder in Delhi now costs 1,652.5 rupees ($20), up by Rs6.5 from a month earlier, and in Mumbai costs Rs1,605, up by Rs7 from a month earlier. Prices in Kolkata rose by Rs8.5 to Rs1,764.5, while prices in Chennai rose by Rs7.5 to Rs1,817, state-controlled refiner IOC's website shows. Prices for 14kg residential cylinders remained at Rs803 in Delhi, Rs802.50 in Mumbai, Rs829 in Kolkata and Rs818.50 in Chennai.
Share
Related news posts
Global LPG prices rise with crude as conflict returns
Global LPG prices rise with crude as conflict returns
The LPG markets have largely moved in tandem with crude as they take stock and await the fallout from the latest strikes London, 14 July (Argus) — Global LPG prices are rising again but so far only with crude following renewed supply and shipping disruptions from revived US and Iran hostilities since 7 July. Spot activity remained relatively calm, with prices significantly trailing the March highs despite Tehran declaring the strait of Hormuz closed again, as the market weighed its options at a time of uncertainty over the duration of the fresh attacks. US strikes on Iranian assets in the Mideast Gulf intensified over 11-14 July, and Washington said it would resume its naval blockade on Iranian shipments from the Gulf from 14 July. This comes as the risks to shipping along the strait increase after Iranian cruise missiles struck the UAE's oil tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah on 14 July. Iran also hit Cyprus-flagged containership GFS Galaxy over the weekend of 11-12 July. The UAE condemned the latest tanker strikes, called for the strait to reopen unconditionally and said it reserved the right to respond to the escalation. Washington says it intends to keep the strait open despite Tehran's proclamations, but President Donald Trump has proposed charging Gulf states the equivalent of 20pc of a cargo's value to cover protection costs. Iran, which previously imposed a $1-2/bl toll on some tankers, has reiterated its own claim to be Hormuz's guardian. The competing assertions of control, continuing attacks and widening US blockade leave Mideast Gulf energy exports again exposed to delays, higher freight and insurance costs and possible diversions. Northeast Asian propane prices on the Argus Far East Index (AFEI) firmed by more than $55/t to $650.25/t over 7-13 July, before jumping by $63/t to $713.50/t on 14 July, tracking sharp gains on front-month Brent crude. Concerns over tightening availability of US supply if Asian buyers rush back to the US Gulf coast for cargoes widened the August AFEI premium to Mideast Gulf CP equivalents to $88.50/t on 14 July, from $51/t on 10 July. But Asia-Pacific buyers have so far shown little urgency to do so, with ample August availability capping gains on cargo premiums to paper. Market participants remained optimistic that renewed peace talks could quell the latest upheaval and that the market was better prepared this time. Major importers China, India and southeast Asia also have higher inventories, having absorbed some of the VLGCs that were released from the Gulf following the peace agreement in June. US Gulf coast sellers raised their offers after strikes resumed, but high VLGC freight rates have stymied buyers from paying for higher-priced fob cargoes. The AFEI propane premium to Mont Belvieu LST hub prices widened to $273/t from $228/t over 7-13 July, while Houston-Chiba VLGC rates rose by $34/t to $229/t. The Mont Belvieu price increased to 73.4375¢/USG ($382.60/t) from 70.875¢/USG. Northwest European large cargo prices for deliveries to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub failed to track these gains, firming by $14.50/t to $542.25/t over the same period, allowing it to lose ground against naphtha and AFEI values. This relative weakness in the region is due to high stocks, a backwardated market structure and limited summer demand. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Aygaz eyes US LPG and clean cooking opportunities
Q&A: Aygaz eyes US LPG and clean cooking opportunities
London, 14 July (Argus) — Turkey's largest LPG distributor, Aygaz, is a major importer and regional trader. The company also jointly owns Bangladeshi distributor United Aygaz LPG, having acquired a 50pc stake in the firm in 2019. More recently, it invested in three new VLGCs as it expanded into the LPG shipping sector. Argus' Waldemar Jaszczyk spoke with Aygaz chief executive Melih Poyraz about the firm's recent developments, the current operating climate and future plans. Edited highlights follow: How has the Iran war affected the Turkish LPG market and Aygaz? The Turkish market is supplied mainly from the US and Algeria, so we didn't have any problems getting product. But everyone turned to the US, and longer trade routes caused tanker rates to skyrocket. If you were getting your tonnes through term contracts, it was not a big deal, but spot product could have been a huge problem. At Aygaz, we usually buy 80pc on a term basis and 20pc on a spot basis. Turkey has a big autogas market, and consumption grows during the summer driving season. Aygaz supplies more than half of the retail and wholesale sectors. We also export hundreds of thousands of tonnes to Mediterranean countries. So we had to manage our demand carefully. We drew down our inventories, which typically stand at 60,000t at our terminals, to avoid buying on the spot market and paying premiums, especially when India was trying to buy at the same time. In Bangladesh, thanks to our risk-management policies, we were buying not only from the Mideast Gulf but also on a term basis from the US. As a result, we were the only ones able to provide a steady supply. Our biggest concern was supplying the market and helping the government rather than making a profit. How did your consumers respond to price hikes? The Turkish government reduced the special consumption tax on fuels to offset the surge in global prices. There was a hike in prices, but autogas consumers did not really feel the pain. Now that prices have dropped, the tax rate is rising again. In Bangladesh, the moment the [Saudi Aramco contract price] increased, we saw demand destruction. Consumers there are quite price-sensitive compared with those in Turkey because of lower income per capita, and demand is very elastic. Turkey's imports from the US rose to record highs in the first half of 2026 as Algerian and Russian supplies were disrupted. Do you expect this to continue? A lot of US LPG will be coming to the market in 2027-28. Mont Belvieu LPG is the cheapest, and it's going to get cheaper. Supply in the US will increase by about 30-50pc depending on the start-up of new projects. This has to be exported and the product will remain competitive. Imports from the US will increase throughout the region, which will support the industry. It will be easier to convince the Turkish owners of 2mn gasoline cars built over 2010-20 to convert them to LPG because of autogas' price competitiveness. Will Aygaz buy from Russia's new Ust-Luga LPG terminal that can ship VLGCs? It gets harder for Russian cargoes to flow. We have to be very careful about sanctions. But when you look at the location, it's much easier because we are very close to Russia. If the situation stays as it is, imports from Russia will not increase, no matter what infrastructure is built. If there's peace, it could be an opportunity. Aygaz has ordered three VLGCs this year at a cost of $353mn. How will you utilise the new vessels? The US tonnes will have to flow. But how? You need more vessels. The average vessel age in LPG is high. New vessels run on LPG as well. Suddenly, instead of paying $700-800/t for fuel oil, you pay $400/t because the tanker will be consuming LPG from the US cargo. This provides quite a big advantage because, during the 27-28-day journey, your consumption and carbon footprint drop. Then when I look at the Mont Belvieu arbitrage to other indexes, when it increases, so do VLGC rates. If you want to capture this, you have to buy a vessel. It was not easy convincing our holding company, but we are happy that we did. Can Turkey sustain its recent growth in LPG re-exports? The biggest problem for trade in the Black Sea region is security, particularly the risk of drone attacks. Everyone talks about the safety of terminals, but no one talks about the safety of tankers, which is at least as important. If I have a tanker going into Bulgaria and a drone attack happens, which authority am I meant to call? Shipping rates increase because insurance is more expensive, and suddenly trade decreases. In the south, Syria has huge potential after the sanctions were lifted. Once the Iran war ends, we will have more trade with our neighbours. How has your Bangladeshi business fared since your investment in 2019, and what is the domestic outlook? It is a very big market — more than 200mn people. The country has natural gas supply but it is diminishing and they want to use it for industry. It's also much easier to move LPG into rural areas. Consumption is very low, but a huge, young population will turn into middle-income consumers in the coming years. We are very happy with our joint venture and our partners. In four years, we have gained more than a 12pc market share at 300,000 t/yr from scratch. We have a terminal in Chittagong with a storage capacity of 16,000t. We will add another 5,000t there at the end of 2026. It is the only facility in the country capable of handling midsize ships carrying 22,000t. We also plan to expand our 3,000t site in Dhaka to 5,500t in the second half of 2027. Do you plan to expand into other clean cooking markets? We currently trade 2.4mn-2.5mn t/yr, but we want to reach 5mn t/yr in the next 10 years. We want to grow, especially in Africa and southeast Asia, which are our target markets. But sometimes valuations can be a bit too high and we don't want to overpay. We have patience, and when the right time comes, we will step in. What is your outlook for the Turkish market in the coming years? I don't expect to see a huge decrease in the cylinder market, currently about 500,000 t/yr, as natural gas penetration is largely completed and LPG is still required in many areas. For autogas, there is the huge potential of converting the 2mn gasoline cars built in 2010-20 to LPG. We work extensively with conversion companies and [car manufacturers] to convince them to produce more LPG cars. And while hybrid and electric vehicle sales are increasing, people are price-sensitive, especially in the Anatolian region. Turkey will host the next Cop 31 climate summit and the World Liquid Gas Association's (WLGA) Liquid Gas Week this year. What are your expectations? I'm the vice-president of the WLGA. We are very excited about it and have put a lot of effort into it. [IEA executive director] Fatih Birol will be the keynote speaker at our event, which could be the largest the WLGA has ever hosted. For the industry, these are great years. It is going to help us show governments that the world needs more LPG and that the industry is capable of changing people's lives. The Turkish government is keen to support LPG in Africa and Bangladesh. So these are exciting times for us, and challenging as well. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China NGL storage keeps growing on petchem investment
China NGL storage keeps growing on petchem investment
Ethylene steam cracker projects are driving the expansion in Chinese LPG and ethane storage, prompting big investments Shanghai, 14 July (Argus) — China's natural gas liquids (NGL) storage capacity continues to expand at pace, driven by growing petrochemical production capacity and diversified feedstock requirements, the latest Global LPG Storage Survey finds. The number of Chinese LPG and ethane storage projects has risen to 13 with a combined capacity of 721,300t in the quarterly survey, which updates Asia-Pacific, from one of 120,000t from the previous update in May. These are set to start up from the second half of this year to 2028. Projects linked to ethylene steam crackers are driving the expansion, accounting for 61pc of new capacity. Four cracker-related storage projects with a combined capacity of 441,000t can store ethane, while the feedstock accounts for 305,000t, or 42pc, of the total project capacity. Chinese operators of flexible crackers have been retrofitting their facilities to use ethane since 2025 owing to its price competitiveness relative to naphtha and LPG. The added feedstock demand lifted China's ethane imports by more than two-thirds on the year to 4.8mn t in January-June, Kpler data show. This greater need for US ethane has prompted three companies with cracker projects to invest in ethane storage. These include Secco's 1.1mn t/yr naphtha and butane-fed cracker in Shanghai, Huatai's 850,000 t/yr propane and ethane-fed cracker and Sinopec Zhenhai's 1.2mn t/yr naphtha, LPG and ethane-fed cracker — both in Zhejiang. The ethane storage at these sites totals 255,000t combined. Secco plans to use 480,000t of ethane to substitute about 1mn t of naphtha each year. Huatai completed its cracker retrofit and has been importing ethane since 2024 . The firm is building a new 100,000t ethane storage tank after converting its same-sized propane tank to ethane in 2024. And the Sinopec Zhenhai refinery is installing a 65,000t ethane tank for its integrated crackers. Sanjiang is building a new LPG and ethane import terminal and storage site capable of holding 136,000t of LPG and 80,000t of ethane in Ningbo, Zhejiang, to reduce feedstock costs for its 1mn t/yr naphtha, LPG and ethane-fed cracker. The site will be able to accept cheaper full VLGCs and very large ethane carriers. China's propane dehydrogenation (PDH) sector is still investing in new propane storage infrastructure, adding 110,000t from three projects combined. This includes a new LPG terminal being built in Cangzhou, Hebei, to serve Haiwei's 500,000 t/yr PDH unit and Kaiyi's 660,000 t/yr MTBE unit that will be able to store 40,000t each of propane and butane. The firm has been buying trucked propane from Shandong or Tianjin for the PDH plant, with supply disruptions and weaker margins from higher truck prices forcing the unit's intermittent shutdown — its utilisation stood at 33pc in 2025 compared with the 71pc national average. Grand opening A new 28,800t refrigerated butane tank in Dongguan, Guangdong, for Grand Resources, which operates two 600,000 t/yr PDH units, is under way and will allow the firm to buy full VLGCs from the Middle East, which are often split propane-butane loads, as it has a 69,800t propane tank. China has imported more LPG from the Middle East since April 2025, when it announced retaliatory tariffs on US LPG . China's LPG imports from the Middle East rose by 25pc on the year to 17.8mn t in 2025, while imports from the US fell by 35pc to 11.6mn t, Kpler data show. China's growing fleet of crackers and PDH plants has seen a 9pc increase in the country's NGL storage capacity to 8.5mn t from 7.8mn t in 2024. Cracker and PDH-linked projects contributed 377,000t and 340,000t of this capacity, respectively. Two terminal and storage facilities have opened this year. An LPG project in Huizhou, Guangdong, started operations in June , and can store 64,000t each of propane and butane. Another terminal in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, which can store 89,000t of propane and 44,500t of butane, is selling trucked LPG to Shandong. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan shuts 15pc of LPG storage space on falling demand
Japan shuts 15pc of LPG storage space on falling demand
Storage facilities have closed at pace, as falling domestic demand and increased competition force a switch to industry consolidation, writes Reina Maeda Tokyo, 15 July (Argus) — Japan has closed LPG storage facilities with a combined capacity of more than 628,000t over the past two years as a result of declining demand, the latest Global LPG Storage Survey finds. Many of the units are being converted to store ammonia as the country looks to establish supply chains for renewable forms of the fuel. Japan's total LPG storage capacity is down by 15pc to about 3.5mn t in the latest quarterly update of the survey, which updates Asia-Pacific, from 4.2mn t in 2024, owing to changing market conditions. Importers and distributors are increasingly looking towards consolidating with other companies and rationalising their operations to reduce costs, in particular those associated with maintaining ageing infrastructure. At the same time, petrochemical producers are shutting down their facilities as they are faced with declining domestic demand for olefins and intensifying international competition. Japanese refiner Idemitsu in late 2024 announced plans to convert storage space at two of the country's largest LPG import terminals operated by its jointly owned subsidiary Astomos to ammonia by 2030 . The Tokuyama facility in the Yamaguchi prefecture had capacity to store nearly 120,000t of LPG, while the Namikata terminal in Ehime prefecture could accommodate 182,000t. The former terminal regularly received more than 200,000 t/yr of LPG before 2018, while the latter achieved this level at its peak during 2018-19, data from analytics firm Kpler show. Astomos said at the time that it chose not to renew its contracts as part of cost-cutting measures because of flagging demand. The Tokuyama terminal shut down in March 2024 while Namikata was closed in March last year. Astomos has partnered with fellow importer Gyxis to distribute LPG in the central Chukyo area since 2025 after closing one of two storage facilities in Hekinan, Aichi prefecture — owned by Idemitsu — in June 2025. The Hekinan terminal that closed could hold 52,500t of propane and the other 26,900t of butane. The terminal received more than 500,000t of LPG in 2014, and then took about 290,000 t/yr over 2015-24 as imports declined, Kpler data show. Astomos has also collaborated with Japan Gas Energy for LPG sales in the Toyama prefecture since April 2024 , but it has not shut down any storage facilities yet. Refiner Eneos has also shut down several LPG storage facilities, including its Kawasaki, Wakayama and Kagoshima facilities. It permanently closed the 120,000 b/d Wakayama refinery in October 2023, including about 22,500t of LPG storage. The company also plans to shut down one of its integrated ethylene steam crackers at its 249,100 b/d Kawasaki refinery in March 2028, owing to falling domestic demand for ethylene and growing competition from overseas producers, the firm said in May. Aichi fleet Astomos and Toho Gas' LPG sales arm, Toho Liquefied Gas, partnered in May 2025 to streamline their operations in the central Chukyo area. They have recently discussed the possibility of reducing their tank storage capacity but have yet to disclose anything concrete. Toho Liquefied Gas owns a storage facility in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, which can store about 2,800t of propane and 2,400t of butane. Japan's LPG demand is expected to fall to about 11mn t in 2030-31 , pressured by lower requirements from the household sector due to an increase in energy efficiency and a drop in population in rural parts of the country, according to the latest outlook by economy, trade and industry ministry Meti. Japan LPG demand forecast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Related Products
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more