EU's proposed 19th package of Russia sanctions closes LPG loophole, Poland says

WARSAW (Reuters) -The 19th package of European Union sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine will close a loophole allowing Russia to bypass an EU ban for imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Polish energy minister said on Thursday.

The 12th sanctions package from 2024 had excluded some types of LPG, such as butane and isobutane, used mainly as a feedstock for production of other petrochemicals. Other types of LPG are mainly used as fuel for cars and heating.

Before the sanctions went into force, Poland was the largest importer of Russian LPG.

While Sweden became the biggest supplier of LNG to Poland in the first half of 2025, imports of liquefied gas from Russia fell but were not eliminated, data from the Polish Liquefied Gas Organization (POGP) showed.

The remaining Russian imports corresponded with inflow of butane and isobutane, fractions of LPG with a purity of more than 95%, used also in production of aerosols, POGP data showed.

"Adding butane to the sanctions will close the possibility of its import from Russia and Belarus as a component for creating a liquefied petroleum gas mixture, eliminating a loophole in the existing ban on LPG imports," Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka said in a statement.

(Reporting by Marek StrzeleckiEditing by Bernadette Baum)