Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has launched new daily price assessments for Butane delivered into Lagos and LPG freight from Houston to West Africa, effective January 2, 2026, responding to shifting supply and demand dynamics across the region.
The new assessments come as the commissioning of Nigeria’s Dangote refinery reshapes refined product flows in West Africa, while rising demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a clean cooking fuel increases imports into key regional hubs.
Platts said the changes have heightened the need for transparent pricing in what it described as a fast-growing market.
Butane DAP Lagos price assessment
The newly launched Butane DAP Lagos assessment reflects coaster-size refrigerated butane cargoes delivered into Lagos, Nigeria. Cargo sizes range between 1,000 and 6,000 metric tons, with delivery five to 15 days forward from the date of publication.
Prices are published in US dollars per metric ton and reflect transactable value at 4:30 pm London time, normalized to the mean of the delivery period.
Platts said the assessment was developed in consultation with market participants to better reflect actual trading activity in Nigeria, where local refining and import dynamics are rapidly evolving following the start-up of the Dangote refinery.
Houston–Lome LPG freight benchmark
Alongside the Lagos butane assessment, Platts also launched a spot LPG freight assessment covering shipments from Houston, Texas, to Offshore Lome, Togo.
The freight assessment reflects the cost of chartering a Medium Gas Carrier (MGC) vessel to transport a 22,000-metric-ton LPG cargo, loading five to 15 days forward. The benchmark is designed to bring greater transparency to freight costs in the West Africa LPG market, where freight is typically traded on a spot $/mt basis and includes port costs.
Platts noted that pricing data for other cargo sizes or loading windows may be normalized for assessment purposes.
The new price assessments follow the London publishing schedule and will be available on Platts Global Alert and Platts Refined Products Alert from January 2, with additional coverage appearing in LPGaswire and related publications from February 2.
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