Iran's March LPG exports rebound to 440,000 tons

According to Platts, one cargo each is bound for Indonesia, India and Taiwan, the fixtures showed.

Shipments for the first three months were estimated at 1.36 million tons, with January registering a post-sanctions high of 520,000 tons.

Shipment resumed to Indonesia in March after a hiatus in February, with international trading firm Petredec lifting aboard the Pacific Shanghai a 44,000-ton evenly split cargo from Iranian Gas Commercial Co., or IGCC, at Assalouyeh on March 7.

The VLGC is now off southeast Sri Lanka and is due to arrive at Teluk Semangka in Sumatra on March 16, according to S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow.

No cargoes were seen lifted directly by Indonesia's Pertamina in March and it was not immediately clear if the state-run company had concluded a new term contract with Iran.

Thai trader Siam Gas has lifted aboard the VLGC Ming De a cargo comprising 33,000mt of propane and 11,000mt of butane from IGCC at Assalouyeh on March 9. The vessel, which is now off the Indian west coast, is bound for southern China's Guangdong.

Trading firm Global Reality has lifted aboard the Gas Jasmine a cargo comprising 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane from Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co., or PGPICC, at Assalouyeh, on March 5.

The VLGC is currently off southeast Sri Lanka and is due to arrive in Fangcheng, southern China, on March 25.

Naftiran Intertrade Co., or NICO — a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Co. — lifted aboard the BW Orion a 44,000-ton evenly split cargo from IGCC, at Assalouyeh on February 27. The VLGC is now off Singapore and is bound for Ningbo on March 20.

NICO also lifted a cargo of 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane aboard the LPG Capricorn from IGCC at Assalouyeh on March 12. The VLGC is now in the Persian Gulf and is due to arrive in Mailiao, Taiwan, on March 28.

Oriental Energy, which operates propane dehydrogenation plants in China, lifted aboard the Pacific Yantai, a cargo comprising 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane, from PGPICC, at Bandar Imam Khomeini. The 54,747-dwt vessel is now off southeast Sri Lanka and is due to arrive in Guangdong on March 22.

The Chinese company also lifted aboard the VLGC Gas Dignity — a 22,000-ton evenly split cargo from Kharg Petrochemical00 — as well as a 22,000-ton propane parcel from PGPICC at Bandar Imam Khomeini. The vessel is now near the Gulf of Oman and is bound for Ningbo on March 31.

Oriental Energy lifted aboard a third vessel, Pacific Weihai, a cargo comprising 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane, from PGPICC at Assalouyeh on March 11. The vessel is destined for an unidentified port in China.

Trading firm Triliance lifted aboard the Sisouli Prem a cargo comprising 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane from IGCC at Assalouyeh. The VLGC is now near Kolkata in northeast India.

A cargo from IGCC, comprising 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane, is also due to be lifted at Assaluyeh in March. The lifter and destination are not yet known, shipping sources said.

The arrivals of more Iranian cargoes in China this month come as PDH plants returned from the long Lunar New Year holidays around end-February.

Three PDH plants — Tianjin Bohai Chemical, Ningbo Haiyue and Ningbo Fuji — have also raised operating rates in February after maintenance, said domestic information provider JLC.

Oriental Energy's Zhangjiagang Yangzijiang Petrochemical in eastern Jiangsu Province, which shut for maintenance from February 7, is expected to restart around late March, JLC said.

Source: Iran Daily (Tehran-based English newspaper)

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