Global LPG Storage Survey 2024
Part of Argus LPG World service
New Chinese facilities
This bi-annual report aims to detail all storage facilities with capacity of 1,000t and above (with a few below this value).
Research for the 2024 edition was carried out in six continents and collated information on more than 1,300 large storage facilities in over 110 countries – up from around 1,100 from 80 countries in 2022.
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Scroll to view: the map of the new LPG facilities in China, news story and insights from the survey
China's cracker expansion to drive LPG storage growth
China's LPG storage capacity is expected to expand again in 2025 after it continued to grow in 2024, the latest: Global LPG Storage Survey finds. But whereas the expansion of the past five years has been driven by the country's investment in propane dehydrogenation (PDH) projects, next year's increase is supported by facilities built to serve new ethylene steam crackers.
China's PDH capacity reached 22.6mn t/yr by the end of September, up 237pc from 6.7mn t/yr at the end of 2019. This has necessitated a significant increase in propane imports as well as domestic refrigerated LPG storage capacity for VLGC deliveries, which rose 159pc to 5.7mn t from 2.2mn t. The number of import terminals that can be served by VLGCs has grown to 41 from 23 since 2019.
China's PDH expansion is expected to slow next year owing to sustained negative production margins. Yet the country's LPG storage capacity is yet again on course to rise, by 330,000t to 6.1mn t, backed by projects tied to new crack-ers. Domestic petrochemical producers believe LPG Will be more competitive than naphtha in terms of cost over the long term, and are consequently building crackers designed to use the feedstock, including ExxonMobil's 1.6mn t/yr cracker in Huizhou, and BASF s 1mn t/yr cracker in Zhanjiang.
Ethane imported from the US is likely to be even more competitive than LPG or naphtha, resulting in a crop of new ethane-ted cracker projects as well as conversions of existing units, supporting the development of ethane import terminals and storage capacity. Huatal Shengfu's 600.000 t/yr cracker in Ningbo will switch one of its propane furnaces to ethane use by the end of this year, converting its VLGC terminal into an ethane dedicated one. The 320,000 b/d Shenghang Petrochemical and 800,000 b/d Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical integrated refineries also plan to develop new ethane terminals in the medium term. China's ethane storage capacity is forecast to rise by 320.000t to 760.000t by the end of 2025 as a result.
Key findings from our latest survey
This is the first storage survey that includes ethane capacities, as well as ship categories for coastal terminals, and a separate table of projects.
China has continued to drive growth in storage capacity, adding two new LPG import terminals capable of storing 320,000t combined over the past year
India’s 1.4mn t/yr Krishnapatnam LPG import terminal on the east coast, which opened this year, and its 35,800t of accompanying storage is included in the survey. As too is shipowner BW LPG and LPG distributor Confidence Petroleum’s import terminal project near Mumbai on the west coast, which will be able to store 62,000t when it opens in around 2026
China also has the most projects that are due to open in the next 1-2 years. But a shift is taking place, with these facilities increasingly linked to ethylene steam crackers rather than propane dehydrogenation plants
China is also increasingly turning to US ethane as a cheaper petrochemical feedstock. This survey includes Satellite Chemical’s ethane terminal in Lianyungang, in northeast China’s Jiangsu province, which can store 320,000t, making it the largest ethane import facility in the world
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120.00
Total Storage
-
Propane
120.00
Butane
-
Ethane
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
China, Zhanjiang
Country, Location
BASF Zhanjiang
Owner
Launch in 2025
Changes vs 2023
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23
2019
2024
41
Number of Chinese terminals that can be served by VLGCs
Click locations for more information
Launch in 2025
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
60.00
Butane
60.00
Propane
120.00
Total Storage
Sinopec Zhongke
Owner
China, Zhanjiang
Country, Location
Launch in 2025
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
60.00
Butane
60.00
Propane
120.00
Total Storage
Huizhou LPG terminal
Owner
China, Huizhou
Country, Location
Added a new propane tank in 2024
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
13.00
Butane
53.00
Propane
66.00
Total Storage
Fujian Huaxing
Owner
China, Quanzhou
Country, Location
Added a new propane tank in 2024
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
-
Butane
-
Propane
140.00
Total Storage
Ningbo Kingfa
Owner
China, Ningbo
Country, Location
Change its propane tank to ethane in 2024
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
80.00
Ethane
-
Butane
-
Propane
80.00
Total Storage
Huatai Shengfu
Owner
China, Ningbo
Country, Location
Added ethane storage capacity
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
120.00
Ethane
-
Butane
60.00
Propane
180.00
Total Storage
SP Chemical
Owner
China, Taixing
Country, Location
Added ethane storage capacity
Changes vs 2023
-
Maximum vessel size
320.00
Ethane
-
Butane
-
Propane
320.00
Total Storage
Satellite Chemical
Owner
China, Lianyungang
Country, Location
Launch in 2025
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
25.00
Butane
25.00
Propane
50.00
Total Storage
PetroChina Kunlun
Owner
China, Qingdao
Country, Location
2024 New terminal and new storage capacity
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
80.00
Butane
80.00
Propane
160.00
Total Storage
Befar New Material
Owner
China, Binzhou
Country, Location
2024 new storage tanks
Changes vs 2023
-
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
-
Butane
12.00
Propane
12.00
Total Storage
Zhonghai Jingxi Chemical
Owner
China, Dongying
Country, Location
Added ethane storage capacity
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
160.00
Ethane
150.00
Butane
891.00
Propane
1201.00
Total Storage
Wanhua Chemical
Owner
China, Yantai
Country, Location
Launch in 2025, VLEC terminal
Changes vs 2023
-
Maximum vessel size
80.00
Ethane
-
Butane
-
Propane
80.00
Total Storage
Sinopec-Ineos ethane terminal
Owner
China, Tianjin Nagang
Country, Location
Launch in 2025, VLEC terminal
Changes vs 2023
VLGC – 70,000m³ and above
Maximum vessel size
-
Ethane
80.00
Butane
80.00
Propane
160.00
Total Storage
Hengli Petrochemical
Owner
China, Dalian
Country, Location
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