Aramco halts Juaymah LPG exports after propane, butane delivery system damage

By Trixie Yap, Shariq Khan and Maha El Dahan

NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco 2223.SE halted Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) exports from its Juaymah terminal in eastern Saudi Arabia this week after a part of the delivery system carrying propane and butane was structurally damaged, the company said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on February 23, and Aramco halted LPG exports as it activated its emergency response plan, the company said in a statement. Propane and butane deliveries scheduled from Juaymah for the next few weeks have been canceled, while the scope and duration of the impact remain under evaluation, the company added.

No leaks were reported and no injuries occurred, Aramco said. Shipments of LPG from the West Coast are not impacted, it added.

The outage was caused by the collapse of a portion of the trestle carrying propane and butane pipes, sources said earlier, citing a notice from Aramco to customers.

The Juaymah terminal, located near the Jafurah gas field and Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery, is one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gases, which include propane and butane.

The outage hits propane and butane markets at the worst possible time as Saudi exports are critical for term buyers in Japan, Korea, China and India, Dubai-based NitrolTrading told clients in a note.

Average monthly exports of LPG from Juaymah averaged about 450,000 tons in 2025 and 2024, Kpler shiptracking data showed.

Last year, at least 60% of LPG exports from the Juaymah production facility were bound for India, the Kpler data showed, while China received around 15% of the exports.

Propane futures for March on the Far East index surged nearly 5% after the Asian market close to above $590 per metric ton, LSEG pricing data showed, hitting its highest level since early April 2025. PROFEIMc1