Calculations based on data and industry sources showed that Russian rail exports of liquefied gas to China increased by almost 40% in the period January to August, to 184,000 tons.

Russian Railways imposed restrictions to ease bottlenecks in May and early June, which caused a drop in the monthly average of LPG supplies from Russia to China.

Sources said that the Ust-Kut Gas Processing Plant controlled by Irkutsk Oil Company was the major contributor to overall exports. The company increased its supplies by 60,000 tonnes in the first eight month of the year.

LPG (or propane and butane) is used primarily as fuel for automobiles, for heating, and to make other petrochemicals.

By 2023, Russia will increase its LPG rail exports from China by 35 percent to 202,000 tonnes. China accounted 6% of Russia’s 3.6 million ton railway LPG exports. This year, the share of China's railway LPG exports has increased to 8%.

LPG is also delivered by truck in Russia. (Reporting and Editing by Elaine Hardcastle).

(source: Reuters)