A wave of investment in the region aims to meet rising domestic demand and could narrow the infrastructure gap
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 |
