According to informed sources, Saudi Aramco will suspend its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shipment arrangements for next month due to supply disruptions caused by damage to its primary export facility in late February. The state-owned oil producer has recently notified buyers that shipments from its LPG facility in Juaymah will remain suspended throughout May, sources who asked not to be identified said. Aramco's LPG exports have been halted since a support structure at the facility collapsed in February, before the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. The incident drove up LPG prices, prompting buyers to urgently seek alternative supplies. Subsequently, Middle East tensions have led to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major export route, causing energy shortages in Asia and triggering a supply crisis in India, where LPG is widely used for cooking. Some sources indicated that Aramco has informed certain buyers that it has been unable to conduct necessary repairs on the Juaymah facility. This means that even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens, no shipments will be delivered in May. On February 26, Aramco stated that planned shipments from Juaymah "in the coming weeks" would be "canceled," but provided no further details. The February accident has significantly impacted a niche segment of the oil market. Aramco is a key global supplier of propane and butane, which constitute LPG. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has further disrupted supplies from other parts of the Middle East, leading to severe shortages of cooking fuel in India. Aramco's primary LPG processing and shipping facility in Juaymah is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, adjacent to the company's largest crude oil and petroleum products export terminal, Ras Tanura. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry stated that a fire also broke out in part of the processing facilities at Juaymah during attacks suffered amid regional conflict, though the extent of the damage was not disclosed. According to calculations by Kpler analysts, Aramco's Juaymah facility accounts for 3.5% of global seaborne LPG exports. The Middle East conflict has disrupted supplies of several key raw materials. Industry sources and executives said the hostilities have also driven up prices for printed circuit boards (PCBs). This disruption deals a fresh blow to electronics manufacturers already struggling with soaring memory chip prices, while also highlighting the widening impact of the Iran conflict, which has severely disrupted supply chains, plastics, and oil supplies. In early April, Iran attacked Saudi Arabia's Jubail petrochemical complex, halting production of high-purity polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin, a key base material for manufacturing PCB laminates. A source noted that shortages of other critical materials, such as fiberglass and copper foil, have also contributed to sharp increases in PCB prices.
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