Latsco Shipping: US shale to drive LPG ship market

Increased US exports of liquefied petroleum gas amid higher shale oil production will boost demand for ships that carry gases such as propane, butanes and ethane, Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis, director at Athens-headquartered Latsco Shipping Ltd, said.

Shipments of LPG from the US rose to a record 506,000 barrels a day in April, up 65 percent from a year earlier, Energy Information Administration data show.

Production of the gases has grown as high oil prices and improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have allowed producers to tap into crude and gas trapped in layers of shale rock more than a mile beneath the Earth’s surface.

“The US shale oil revolution is the main game-changer for the LPG market,” Kasidokostas-Latsis said in an interview in the Greek capital.

“We are very optimistic on further growth of demand for LPG ships, especially from the US on the back of shale.”

[Bloomberg]