Butane has two isomers, namely n-butane and isobutane. Both are colorless flammable gases at room temperature and pressure. Butane is usually found in petroleum gas and natural gas. Butane is one of the important raw materials in the petrochemical industry. It is mainly found in natural gas, refinery gas and cracking gas. It is obtained by physical separation, etc., and can also be obtained from n-butane by isomerization.
Butane has a variety of industrial and commercial uses. It can be used as a fuel, refrigerant, solvent, and chemical raw material. When butane is mixed with propane, it becomes liquefied petroleum gas, which is widely used as a fuel for cooking and heating in homes and industries, as well as as a vehicle fuel. In addition, butane is a raw material for the production of butene and other olefins. Butene is an important intermediate in the chemical industry and is widely used in the production of plastics, synthetic rubber, and other chemicals.
The world's major butane producers include Canada, Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates. According to CRI analysis, the United States is the world's largest butane producer and exporter, with a very significant production advantage in the world; followed by Saudi Arabia, which is the world's largest oil exporter. The oil refining process produces a large amount of butane. As a major oil producer, Saudi Arabia has an advanced oil and gas industry and produces and exports butane on a large scale.
Europe and Asia are the world's major butane consumption areas. Among them, Southeast Asia has a rapid growth in demand for butane as its population grows and industrialization continues to advance, becoming an important region for demand growth.
With the rapid development of Vietnam's economy and the acceleration of industrialization, the size of Vietnam's butane market continues to rise. According to CRI analysis, butane is widely used in the fields of chemical industry and manufacturing in Vietnam, such as the production of chemicals such as isobutylene and propylene. At the same time, as one of the main components of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), butane is widely used in household and commercial fields, such as home cooking, heating and some industrial uses.
With the advancement of Vietnam's urbanization process and the improvement of living standards, the demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPN) in the Vietnamese market is increasing year by year. Vietnam has certain natural gas and oil resources, which are mainly produced by PetroVietnam and its subsidiaries. Vietnam has several oil refineries and natural gas processing plants, which not only produce oil and natural gas, but also butane. However, due to the rapid growth of butane demand in Vietnam, Vietnam's local butane production is not enough to fully meet market demand, so Vietnam's butane market demand still relies heavily on imported products.
According to CRI data, Vietnam's total butane imports in 2023 reached US$321 million. The market demand was even stronger in 2024. From January to November 2024, Vietnam's cumulative butane imports were US$480 million. And it is expected to continue to grow in the next few years.
According to CRI analysis, the main import sources of butane in Vietnam include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Kuwait, Singapore, Qatar and Japan. The UAE is the main import source of butane in Vietnam. The main import sources of butane in Vietnam from 2021 to 2024 are the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The main companies exporting butane in Vietnam include BGN INT DMCC, WANHUA CHEMICAL (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD, VITOL ASIA PTE LTD, etc. According to CRI analysis, the main importers of butane in Vietnam from 2021 to 2024 include CHI NHÁNH TỔNG CÔNG TY KHÍ VIỆT, HYOSUNG VINA CHEMICALS CO LTD, THANG LONG LPG COMPANY LIMITED and other trading and distribution companies.
With the growth of Vietnam's population and the advancement of industrialization, Vietnam's butane market is expected to continue to grow. According to CRI analysis, due to the extremely limited local butane production capacity in Vietnam, Vietnam's butane market will still rely on imported products in the next few years, and the main import sources include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United States. CRI recommends that butane trading companies should investigate the Vietnamese butane market as soon as possible to prepare for a better layout in the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian markets.
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