- Poland, the largest importer of Russian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is increasing seaborne purchases of the fuel from Sweden and Norway as it seeks to replace Russian volumes, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and trading sources.
In 2021 more than half of Poland's LPG imports came from Russia, via both sea and rail, but now the state is moving to decrease its dependence on Russian energy amid the conflict in Ukraine. One of the largest LPG buyers in Poland, Gaspol, has decided to stop LPG imports from Russia.
Seaborne imports of LPG to Poland via its northern ports of Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin over March 1-20 reached some 53,000 tonnes, up from 48,000 tonnes for the same period in February and 34,000 tonnes over January 1-20. Most of the volumes came from Sweden and Norway, the data showed.
Nevertheless, it is still far from enough to replace Russian rail supplies, which amounted to 960,000 tonnes in 2021, according to rail data.
Traders noted the alternative supplies were more expensive than those from Russia.
"Polish importers are forced to import LPG by sea as they have to replace Russian supplies, that adds extra costs of $100-$150 per tonne or even more," one trader in European LPG market said.