Poland compensated for loss of liquefied petroleum gas from Russia through imports from Sweden, U.S., Norway in 2025

MOSCOW. May 8 (Interfax) - Poland's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market underwent major changes in 2025 as EU sanctions on LPG imports from Russia came into effect, as a result of which the majority of imports are now delivered on ships rather than by rail, and Scandinavian countries and the U.S. are now the main exporters, the Polish Liquified Gas Organization (POGP) said in a report.

The organization said that Poland's overall LPG imports had fallen by over 4% to 2.23 million tonnes last year.

Sweden was the biggest supplier with almost 600,000 tonnes, up 9% from 2024, followed by Norway with 410,000 tonnes, more than double, and the U.S. with 331,000 tonnes, up 2.5-fold.

Russia, which had previously provided around half of the LPG imported by Poland, despite sanctions, supplied the country with approximately 300,000 tonnes last year. This consisted entirely of isobutane and n-butane with a purity exceeding 95%, which were exempt from the import restrictions.

"These substances were then mixed in Poland with propane imported from other directions and largely used for energy purposes [...] This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the so-called "new" phenomenon, is sometimes referred to as the so-called 'n-butane gap', also contributed to the inclusion of pure n-butane and isobutane in the 19th EU sanctions package. As a result, from January 26, 2026, the Polish market is completely closed to LPG from Russia," the POGP report reads.

Due to sanctions against Russia and changes to the distribution of suppliers, over half of Poland's LPG imports are now shipped via the sea. The fuel enters the country via the Baltic terminals of Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Riga in Latvia.

The re-export of LPG from Poland dropped 40% to 233,000 tonnes last year. The main export destination had traditionally been Ukraine; however, Romania and Turkey then claimed this market for themselves by offering cheaper sea transportation options amid an increase in transportation tariffs.

Despite the structural changes, POGP said that the domestic LPG market remained stable in terms of consumption, which grew by a marginal 0.2% to 2.45 million tonnes over the year. Around 18% or 450,000 tonnes of this was produced in Poland, down 7% from the previous year. Road transport continued to account for most of LPG consumption with a 73.1% share. Other sectors made up much smaller shares: utilities with 9.8%, industry with 8.8% and agriculture with 5.7%.