Russia more than doubled its sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the Baltic states in 2022 despite their strong condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters has reported.
LPG, which is mainly used as fuel for cars, heating, and in the production of other petrochemicals, has so far been exempt from Western sanctions imposed against Russia in response to its aggression in Ukraine.
In 2022, Russia’s LPG sales to the three Baltic states rose to 331,000 tonnes from 159,000 tonnes a year before, Reuters calculated based on data collected from the region’s traders and trade handlers.
Russian LPG sales to Latvia rose by 77 percent to 232,000 tonnes, while supplies to Lithuania jumped 8.5 times to 72,000 tonnes, and sales to Estonia increased by 42 percent to 27,000 tonnes last year.
According to the data, Russian LPG supplies to Latvia accounted for 90 percent of the country’s total LPG imports in 2022, while Lithuania imported half of its intake from Russia and the rest from Latvia.
According to Baltic traders, their excess volumes of LPG had been sold to Ukraine in recent months. Latvia and Lithuania supplied some 15,000 tonnes to Ukraine in December alone, accounting for 15 percent of Ukraine's total LPG imports that month.
LPG from Russia is much cheaper than supplies from other countries such as Poland and Romania, traders said, adding that there is no official Ukrainian ban on importing Russian LPG.
Latvian and Estonian Energy Ministries did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the data. The Lithuanian ministry declined to comment.
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