Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU's 19th sanctions package closes a loophole on Russian LPG imports, impacting Poland's energy trade. Sweden now leads as Poland's LNG supplier.
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)
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, primarily propane and butane, used as fuel for heating, cooking, and in vehicles.
Economic sanctions are restrictive measures imposed by countries or international organizations to influence or punish a nation, often involving trade restrictions or financial penalties.
Butane is a colorless, flammable gas that is used as a fuel and as a feedstock in the production of petrochemicals.
Isobutane is an isomer of butane, commonly used as a refrigerant and in the production of gasoline and other petrochemicals.
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