BEIJING: China’s LPG imports are expected to reach around 20 million mt in 2017, supported by continuous strong demand from the petrochemical sector, a senior Sinopec official said at the 22nd China LPG Conference held by the Guangdong Oil and Gas Association in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Senior engineer Tian Chunrong predicted that the country’s LPG apparent demand will reach around 54.5 million mt this year, at the conference Friday.
And the country’s LPG apparent demand — comprising domestic production and net imports — was 49.84 million mt in 2016, up 26% on year — the largest growth since 2010, S&P Global Platts data show. “LPG now has been used as feedstock at more and more petrochemical units, which is expected to further push up its demand,” Tian told Platts in an interview Monday.