LPG consumption up in Romania

The auto LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumption will increase by about 18.5% this year, Lyubomir Tsvetanov, general manager of Gazexim Bucharest was quoted as saying by Mediafax. He specified that auto LPG would come to account for about 30% in the total domestic car fuel production, compared with only 11.5% in 2002. The LPG is a mixture of hydrocarbons, maintained in a liquefied state by pressure, which can be used as fuel when allowed to turn into vapours, and includes two types of gas: butane and propane. LPG is directly competing with the gasoline and diesel oil on the car fuel market. The LPG market in Romania, which also includes sales of auto LPG, totalled about $120 – $140 million in 2001, as estimated by the representatives of Shell Gas Romania, one of the top players on this market. As for LPG’s market potential, Tsvetanov quoted a survey of the European LPG Association, anticipating strong growth of the Romanian LPG distribution sector throughout 2003-2006 followed by a time of stabilisation. The Gazexim official says there are some 40 LPG distribution stations in Bucharest compared with 200 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. ZF