Commercial use of LPG(1)

Commercial

LPG is one of the petroleum products. It is a colorless, volatile gas produced from oil and gas field mining, refineries and ethylene plants. It is mainly used in industries such as automobiles, city gas, non-ferrous metal smelting and metal cutting.

In recent years, global LPG production has grown rapidly. In 2011, global LPG production reached about 250 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.73%. It is expected that global LPG production will increase to 275 million tons by 2014.

China is one of the countries with the fastest development of the global LPG industry. Its production has increased from 13.99 million tons in 2004 to 21.81 million tons in 2011, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.55%; China’s LPG production was 7.3324 million tons from January to April 2012. China’s LPG consumption has also grown rapidly, from 21.13 million tons in 2004 to 24.19 million tons in 2011, with a compound annual growth rate of 1.95%. From January to April 2012, my country’s LPG consumption was 7.55 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.30%.

As the most mature fuel in China’s automobile alternative energy technology, LPG is expected to be replaced by natural gas in most of my country’s urban civil gas in the future, and LPG production, as a byproduct of oil refining, will increase with the growth of total oil refining. By then, LPG production capacity will be in excess, and prices will naturally not rise like gasoline and diesel. Its application in automobiles not only has prominent economic benefits, but also can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the prospect of LPG as automobile fuel is promising.