Ausmepa Home » Students » Student research » Ships and the Marine Environment » The journey of bulk cargoes » Transporting LPG
LLiquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is made from a
mixture of hydrocarbon gasses, mostly propane and butane. It is
produced during the refining of crude oil, or extracted from oil or gas
as they are pumped from the ground. It can also be made when LNG is
cooled into a liquid. To keep LPG in a liquid state it must be cooled
to minus 56°C and kept at this temperature on specially designed ships.
In Australia about ¾ of the total LPG produced, is from the oil and gas
fields in Bass Strait, Cooper Basin in Central Australia, the North
West Shelf, Kwinana in Western Australia and Surat Basin in Queensland.
The rest, is produced in the major oil refineries around Australia.
LPG is easily transported in small metal cylinders such as the ones
used for BBQs. It can also be used as fuel for cars, buses, trucks and
forklifts. LPG remains as a liquid because it is under pressure. When
it escapes as a gas, it expands and becomes very cold.
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