The decline is taking place against the backdrop of the EU sanctions that will finally come into force at the end of 2024. All last year, Russian exporters tried to redirect their products to the available markets of Central Asia and China. Although total exports still declined, some volumes went to new buyers.
Thus, for 11 months of 2024 LPG exports from Russia decreased by 7% year-on-year to 3 million tons, but deliveries to Europe separately decreased by 27% to 1.6 million tons. At the same time, rail exports to Central Asian countries increased 3.4 times, and to China – by 42%.
Liquefied hydrocarbon gas produced from associated petroleum gas can be used for home heating, as automobile fuel, and in the production of petrochemicals.
EU restrictions on it were announced back in 2023, but initially there was a one-year transition period. Almost the entire list of LPG, in particular liquefied propane and butane, ethylene, propylene, butylene and butadiene, fell under the sanctions. At the same time, Europe has traditionally been the main market for Russian liquefied hydrocarbon gases, accounting for about 80% of exports of these products in 2022. And the main buyers of LPG from Russia were Poland and the Baltic states.
