Iraq’s BGC boosts LPG exports as BNGL start-up nears

The BNGL plant will help Iraq reduce its gas flaring and increase power generation capacity when it fully comes on line, writes Ieva Paldaviciute

Iraqi upstream joint venture Basrah Gas' (BGC) growing production and exports of LPG are helping to raise the country's overseas LPG shipments this year despite delays to the start-up of its Basrah Natural Gas Liquids (BNGL) plant.

The BNGL project, launched in 2019, incorporates two 200mn ft³/d (2.1bn m³/yr) gas processing trains, the first of which was inaugurated in May last year. Each train will produce 700-900 t/d of LPG — BGC's LPG output has risen by about 400-500 t/d to 6,000 t/d this year. Yet the first train has yet to reach full processing capacity despite being scheduled to do so in late 2023. The company now expects both trains to be fully operational by the end of this year.

BGC, a joint venture between Shell, state-owned South Gas and Japan's Mitsubishi, has 1bn ft³/d of gas processing capacity split between two of its NGL plants in Khor al-Zubair and North Rumaila. The 400mn ft³/d BNGL plant will increase capacity by 40pc and includes "best-in-class" cryogenic NGL trains, the firm says. These facilities process associated gas from oil production at the Rumaila, West Qurna 1 and Zubair fields. BNGL is also intended to help Iraq reduce its gas flaring and increase power generation capacity by around 1.5GW.

BGC's LPG exports have nevertheless been climbing as it works to bring the BNGL plant on line. The company primarily supplies LPG to Iraq's domestic market, mostly for residential cooking, and exports the surplus. But smaller local suppliers are now cutting into BGC's domestic market share, freeing up more of its LPG for export. This includes Iraq's new 140,000 b/d Karbala refinery, which started operations earlier this year and is now selling around 700 t/d of LPG domestically.

BGC typically exports split propane-butane cargoes through tenders to south Asian importers such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as to east African countries such as Tanzania and Mauritius. These are shipped from the company's Umm Qasir terminal on the Mideast Gulf — which can store around 222,000t of LPG, Argus data show — historically on board small pressurised ships but as of this year on Handysize vessels as well, according to analytics firm Kpler. BGC shipped its first semi-refrigerated 100pc propane cargo on the Handysize Navigator Gemini on 2 May, which is due at China's Yizheng port around 27 May, Vortexa data show. The buyer has not been confirmed but the port is owned by Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical and is close to Sinopec's 280,000 b/d Yangzi refinery. Sinopec has recently been importing more LPG to cover losses during planned maintenance.

BGC helped to turn Iraq from a net importer of LPG to a net exporter in 2016. Exports rose strongly to above 200,000t in 2018, before falling over the next three years, Kpler data show. They have increased significantly in 2024, nearly tripling on the year to 49,000 t/month in January-April and forecast to hit a monthly high of 86,000t this month. But the data may be partially skewed — local industry sources have suggested some Iranian LPG cargoes have been disguised as Iraqi exports through ship tracking to bypass sanctions on the former country's oil and gas sector.

Flare cuts

Iraq is becoming less dependent on BGC for LPG, but the country still relies heavily on its dry gas production for its growing power generation needs. The firm produces enough gas to generate around 3.5GW of the 20GW of power Iraq can generate daily, which is still short of the 35GW it needs at peak times. Iraq simultaneously flares more than half of its gross gas production of around 3bn ft³/d. But Iraq has the world's 12th largest proven natural gas reserves. Underinvestment, mismanagement and conflict have kept it dependent on Iranian gas importsand allowed flaring to continue. Baghdad intends to attract investors to ramp up gas output. The BGC project and a multi-billion dollar deal with TotalEnergies last year that includes a 600mn ft³/d processing plant signal it is moving in the right direction.

Iraq seaborne LPG exports

Iraq sea LPG exports by country 2023