Which Country is the Largest Exporter of LPG in the World?

The United States of America, or USA, is the largest exporter of LPG in the world, with it dominating over 40 percent of the global export market. The reason for this dominance is the U.S. shale revolution, which enabled the production of enormous quantities of natural propane and butane. 

Most of the LPG produced by the U.S. is being shipped through its Gulf Coast facilities to the Asian high-demand markets like China and India. Norway, Qatar, Australia, and Russia are other leading exporters of oil. With increased demand of cleaner-burning fuels and petrochemical feedstocks world over, the volume of U.S. exports has hit high records.

The United States: The Undisputed Leader of LPG Exports

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is composed of propane and butane, which is a very important commodity throughout the world to heat, cook, and produce petrochemicals. The shift of the United States out of being a net energy importer to the largest exporter of LPG in the world is one of the most crucial economic changes of the 21 st century.

The U.S. shale revolution was to a great extent the driver of this dramatic turnaround. Innovations in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal wells brought to discover huge natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserves in Texas basin, Pennsylvania and North Dakota basins.

According to the latest report by the U. S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States has exported 1.84 million barrels of propane per day in the month of December 2025.

Source: EIA

To handle this tremendous outflow, U.S. has placed heavy investments in the infrastructure to export gases along the Gulf Coast, which means that the VLGCs could easily operate over the Panama Canal system that has been widened; the gas was easily moved directly to the Asian markets with high demands.

Source: Dorian LPG

Where Does All This LPG Go?

The market intensive supply of LPG has to match an equally huge demand. India and China are always the number one largest importers of LPG in the world.

LPG in India is among the highly subsidized and household requirements that are mainly used in cooking at home. The Federal programs to substitute the biomass cooking fuels with cleaner-burning LPG have contributed to massive growth of imports. 

In the meantime, China is importing the huge amounts of LPG not only to serve the domestic consumption, but also to power its fast growing petrochemical sector that uses propane as a feedstock to produce plastics and synthetic materials.

Who are the top 5 LPG exporting countries?

Based on the report by Global Petroleum Gas Exports by Country & Company in 2024 - Tendata, the top five petroleum gas exporting nations are the United States, Norway, Qatar, Australia, and Russia. Together, these countries account for over 55% of global exports by value.

Which country imports the most LPG?

China is the largest importer of LPG as it relies on it for its growing domestic and petrochemical manufacturing sector. According to a report by Argus Consulting, China imported around 35 million tonnes of LPG in 2025.

What is the difference between LNG and LPG?

LNG stands for Liquefied Natural Gas, which is primarily methane cooled to extreme temperatures to become a liquid. LPG stands for Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which consists of propane and butane, and liquefies under light pressure at normal temperatures.

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Which Country is the Largest Producer of LPG in the World?