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.
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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.
IEA-led clean cooking pledges for Africa rise by $900mn
IEA-led clean cooking pledges for Africa rise by $900mn
A record 15mn people in the region are on course to have gained access to clean cooking in 2025, with LPG dominating the expansion, writes Yasmin Zaman London, 14 July (Argus) — Governments and companies pledged a further $900mn for clean cooking initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa at a recent IEA online event , building on the $2.2bn secured at the IEA's Paris summit in 2024. The IEA also announced that $750mn of the $2.2bn had been disbursed. LPG continues to underpin most of the continent's recent clean cooking gains, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all direct investment and almost half of the disbursements from the summit pledge to date. About 90pc of transitions since 2024 have been to LPG, IEA executive director Fatih Birol says. Around 12mn people gained access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, three times the number in 2010. Early indications suggest progress is accelerating, with a record 15mn people on course to have gained access in 2025, the IEA says in its 2026 progress report. LPG is the primary driver of the expansion. The fuel now accounts for 70pc of people in the region with clean cooking access. LPG's dominance is reflected in recent investments. Direct spending on cooking equipment and related infrastructure reached $770mn in 2024, up from $590mn in 2020, with about three-quarters directed towards LPG, the report finds. End-use LPG investment alone reached about $380mn in 2024, while a further $190mn was spent on LPG infrastructure such as storage and refilling facilities. West Africa leads the way in sub-Saharan African growth. Access to clean cooking rose more than twice as fast in the region compared with other parts of sub-Saharan Africa in 2020-24, accounting for 7.7mn people of the 11.9mn/yr who gained access in this period. Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal are the main growth markets. In Senegal, butane imports almost doubled to about 11,000 b/d (372,000 t/yr) in 2025, to meet the needs of roughly 5mn people, the IEA says. Demand for imported equipment has also grown. Imports of Chinese cookstoves to sub-Saharan Africa increased by more than 20pc to $235mn in 2025, from $190mn a year earlier, the report finds. LPG stoves recorded the largest increase among all technologies, rising by more than $22mn to about $150mn, while west Africa again showed the strongest regional growth. Infrastructure expansions are supporting the uptake. LPG storage capacity in sub-Saharan Africa stands at around 800,000t, up by 12pc from 720,000t in 2021, with at least 250,000t of additional capacity under development, the IEA says. More than 40 ports in the region import LPG, with about 70pc located in west and east Africa. Recent additions include Kenya's Kilifi LPG terminal, while dedicated LPG projects are planned at Tanzania's Tanga and South Africa's Durban ports. These are some of the growing number of LPG storage projects across the region . Nigeria is central to the movement, with the commissioning of the 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery significantly expanding domestic LPG production and reducing import needs over the past two years. The country accounts for about 300,000t of LPG storage capacity, almost 40pc of the sub-Saharan African total, the IEA says. The $740mn has been disbursed across more than 30 African countries, and nearly half has gone directly to LPG, the IEA says. Biomass received just under 20pc, while electric cooking and biogas projects accounted for about 8pc each. Stock options The report highlights the challenges faced over supply security stemming from the strait of Hormuz closure during the Iran war. LPG imports to sub-Saharan Africa have been largely unaffected because the region receives less than 5pc from the Mideast Gulf, with 80pc arriving from the US. But African consumers have still been hit by surging domestic prices and reduced supply as global benchmarks and competition for US LPG exports rose. East African import prices doubled compared with 2025 averages, while west African prices rose by about 70pc, according to the IEA. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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