The move in response to increased Russian butane shipments has been dismissed as symbolic by some in the industry, writes Waldemar Jaszczyk
London, 1 October (Argus) — The EU plans to ban Russian imports of pure butane on top of the already sanctioned propane, and mixed propane-butane shipments under its proposed 19th sanctions package, according to the Polish energy ministry.
The EU’s inclusion is in reaction to the rise in butane imports to the blocafter the 20 December embargo on propane and propane-butane mix, Polish energy minister Milosz Motyka says. EU imports of Russian normal butane and isobutane declined steadily prior to the ban — to about 200,000t in 2024 from nearly 600,000t in 2021. The EU initially waived the product in the LPG ban under its 12th sanctions package to secure approval from Hungary owing to its use of butane for petrochemical production. But this has led to imports more than doubling on the year to 250,000t over January-July.
Driving this increase has been the attractive pricing of Russian butane for Poland’s 1.8mn t/yr autogas market, with the product blended into western-sourced propane. Deliveries to the country more than tripled to 187,000t. Russian butane historically played a limited role for the Polish market, accounting for just under 8pc of around 1mn t/yr of imports from the east, compared with over 80pc for propane and propane-butane mix, Polish LPG Association POGP data show.
Several Polish importers urged Warsaw to halt Russian butane arrivals owing to it weighing on domestic prices. The government in response has pushed for an EU embargo alongside the Baltic states, submitting a joint statement to the European Commission. Estonia had already unilaterally banned butane imports from Russia and Belarus on 21 August. The proposed ban would afford a three-month transition period to find alternative supplies, according to market participants. Ratification is not expected before an informal meeting of EU leaders on 1 October, with it more realistically happening at a summit in Brussels on 22-23 October, diplomats say. The sanctions will require unanimous approval from all 27 member states.
The ban may have little initial impact as Russian deliveries have fallen since spring owing to tighter Poland-Belarus border controls, and plant maintenance and Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries in Russia. These have boosted daf Brest butane railcar prices by over $100t since August to a seven-month high of $/t on 24 September. Poland closed its border with Belarus for two weeks in September, resulting in Russian rail shipments falling to 2,500t on 1-25 September from 4,800t in August and over 16,000t in June, rail forwarders’ data show. The latest sanctions are largely symbolic, a Polish industry executive says.
But the ban could rock the Polish aerosol industry, according to its association PZPPA. The sector has no feasible alternatives to secure the needed butane and local output is insufficient, meaning maintaining domestic aerosol production may be impossible, it says. Some Polish autogas suppliers are meanwhile turning to competitively priced propane from Latvia, after the country begun buying more US LPG this year to supply the wider region.
