North Sea LPG Q2 Exports Hit 2-Year High as Middle East Flow Dries Up
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports from the North Sea on board Handysize carriers and larger vessels reached the highest levels in the second quarter this year since the same period in 2024, data from shipping analytics provider Vortexa showed.
Shipments from the North Sea terminals reached 1.01 million metric tons in Q2, rising from 940,000 mt in Q1 and 613,000 mt in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, exports from the hub reached their highest point since 1.03 million mt was shipped in April-June 2024.
The global LPG market has come under shock since the start of the Middle East war at the start of the quarter with other regional supply hubs stepping up their presence to help offset the shortfall in cargoes from the Middle East Gulf.
Exports from the North Sea also edged higher month on month throughout the quarter – 330,000 mt in April, 339,000 mt in May and 340,000 mt in June.
LPG, natural gas prices highly volatile
The second quarter was a volatile for both LPG and natural gas prices, with front month and month ahead natural gas trading above Q4 2025 levels throughout May, an atypical market dynamic that can disincentivize restocking for winter consumption.
The front-month Dutch Natural Gas Title Transfer Facility TTF futures contract averaged $15.60/MMBtu at 4:30 p.m. U.K. time in the second quarter, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange, compared to $13.78/MMBtu in January-March and $11.41/MMBtu a year earlier.
North Sea LPG prices closed the deficit to the natural gas market, year on year. TTF held a premium of $1.45/MMBtu over LPG in April-June, compared to $1.34/MMBtu in January-March and $1.98/MMBtu a year earlier.
While North Sea maintenance work at both the Karsto and Kollsnes natural gas processing units was extensive in May-June, capacity was also hindered in Q2 last year. However, market dynamics created by the war in the Middle East have meant product has continued to flow.
At the 156 million cubic meter/day Kollsnes unit, maintenance curbed capacity for 23 days in Q2, compared to 34 days a year earlier, data from Norwegian gas operator Gassco showed. Additionally, work carried out at the plant in April-June last year was mostly unplanned, with capacity falling below 50% in some cases.
LPG produced at Kollsnes is typically exported from Equinor’s Mongstad terminal.
Meanwhile, the 97.6 million cubic meter/day Karsto processing unit spent 59 days operating under capacity in Q2, the majority of which was planned. Comparatively, the unit spent 39 days operating under capacity in April-June 2025.
Karsto is the largest gas processing plant in Europe and is connected to around thirty oil and gas fields across the North Sea. It is also the main LPG export terminal in Norway.
Reporting by Jamie Aldridge, jaldridge@opisnet.com; Editing by Rob Sheridan, rsheridan@opisnet.com