06/05/26
LPG World editorial: No longer a gap on the map?
A wave of investment in the region aims to meet rising domestic demand and could
narrow the infrastructure gap London, 6 May (Argus) — Global LPG storage
capacity edged up by nearly 1pc to 73.5mn t in the new quarterly storage survey
from LPG World. What might seem like a modest gain on the surface masks a more
consequential shift — a growing if still uneven wave of infrastructure
investment in sub-Saharan Africa, as the region builds capacity to support its
clean cooking transition. The latest Global LPG Storage Survey updates Europe
and Africa, expands the project dataset and provides more granular data. It
captures 1,340 facilities across 123 countries — an increase of 56 from the 2024
iteration — while the list of projects under way nearly doubles to 23,
representing close to 1mn t of capacity. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for much of
this expansion in terms of new facilities. Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Gambia,
Mayotte and Rwanda appear in the survey for the first time, while additional
capacity emerges in Angola, Congo Brazzaville and Kenya. New import-oriented
infrastructure dominates these additions, including Sonangol's 71,000t Barra do
Dande facility in Angola and Lake Gas' 10,000t Vipingo terminal in Kenya. The
survey also captures the 26,500t of storage linked to the floating LNG project
offshore Congo Brazzaville, with LPG output there expected to serve domestic
demand. The project pipeline reinforces this trend. The list of projects in
sub-Saharan Africa expands by 10, reflecting the recent flow of capital for
infrastructure projects in the region, much of it backed by international
organisations and governments . Most of the projects are modest in scale, the
largest being 24,000-30,000t in South Africa, Kenya, Gabon and Tanzania, with
start-ups due in the next two years. Nigeria is set to add 33,000t across two
developments, Angola has 15,600t under construction and Ghana is expanding its
Tema terminal by 12,000t. These projects are small relative to the enormous
storage caverns and tanks found in the US and China. But they point to a
structural shift — a steady build-out of coastal import terminals designed to
meet rising domestic demand. This reflects the reality that LPG adoption in
sub-Saharan Africa remains constrained less by supply availability than by the
infrastructure required to receive, store and distribute it. And while
fragmented, the geographic spread of projects in western, eastern and southern
Africa suggests a more regionally embedded approach. China continues to dominate
in terms of global capacity additions, with four previously listed projects
starting up over the past two years, adding a combined 370,000t. Russia also
features prominently, with new terminals at Ust-Luga and Sovetskaya Gavan
expected to add 267,000t, although the latter has faced repeated delays owing to
funding constraints and the former could be hindered by Ukrainian drone attacks.
In the Middle East, AD Ports' planned 82,000t facility at a new Abu Dhabi LPG
terminal , due on line in 2029, represents one of the largest additions outside
Asia. These projects are primarily export-oriented. The Iran war underlines why
storage investment may take on greater strategic importance beyond Africa in the
coming years. The conflict has already contributed to drastic export losses and
supply shortages in key import markets, most notably India, where LPG is an
important household cooking fuel. Such volatility has exposed the limits of
India's meagre storage buffer capacity, which is likely to prompt policy makers
to place greater emphasis on strategic reserves and expanded storage
infrastructure in the future. The war also threatens to destabilise the expected
growth in African cooking fuel markets and thwart capital by tearing up the
assumed global LPG supply security. The region's recent terminal and storage
investments will need to prove their worth by capturing low-cost supplies,
alongside the required developments in distribution and inland affordability.
This will then determine whether Africa's infrastructure gap can be meaningfully
narrowed. Global LPG Storage Survey Total global storage '000t 73,518 Number of
countries 123 Number of facilities 1,340 Projects 23 Projects capacity '000t 980
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