TEHRAN: LPG shipments from Iran made a strong start to the year, rebounding to 520,000 mt in January, the highest since Western sanctions for its nuclear program were lifted in January 2016, updated fixtures from shipping sources showed this week. The latest volume is 146,000 mt more than initial figures published in mid-January, according to shipping sources. It is also up 39.4% from 373,000 mt in December 2017, when shipments posted the first month-on-month increase in three months, after exports started declining in September due to lower output at the South Pars gas field amid a two-month maintenance. In 2017, Iran’s LPG shipments totaled around 3.5 million mt, with the highest monthly volume seen in August at 423,000 mt before the maintenance, which ended around mid-November, sources had said. Iranian exports are helping to fill shortfalls of spot supply from the Middle East, as major producers Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are exporting less spot cargoes as they focus on fulfilling term contracts and meeting domestic petrochemical demand. Preliminary figures so far showed 132,000 mt fixed for lifting in February in three cargoes, shipping sources said. Thai trader Siam Gas has lifted aboard the VLGC Ming Long a cargo comprising 33,000 mt of propane and 11,000 mt of butane from Iranian Gas Commercial Co., or IGCC, at Assaluyeh on February 5 for delivery to Guangdong, in southeast China, according to shipping sources and cFlow, S&P Global Platts trade flow software.
