RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Escalating demand and diversification of use, including potential for power generation and wider utilization of the transport sector, will thrive as defining factors for market growth of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the future energy mix.

The conventional use of LPG products is for household cooking. But with some technology innovations, the fuel has been aligned for other applications, such as for water heating for industries; residential space heating and has also been cornering allure for distributed power generation.

Of the growth markets, Asia is seen gobbling up chunk of the pie given the economic expansion of many countries in the region, primarily India and China.

Data have shown that “most of the growth in northeast Asia has occurred in China,” increasing its demand to over 19 million tonnes in 2008, up by about 7.0 million from 2000 level. India is also seen as another key market growth.

For Southeast Asia, the forecast was that LPG demand “is to approach 13 million tonnes per year by 2012.” Bulk of the LPG production in the region, accounting for roughly 60 percent, is produced from gas processing – with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand being the largest producing countries.

But with market expansion, pricing emerges as a concern on the flip side. This then compels some countries to resort to subsidy schemes to ensure that LPG product usage trickle down to the poorest of households.

The expansion of LPG use is similarly linked largely with the intensifying call for global energy leaders to exert conscious effort in reducing the sector’s carbon footprints.

Shell Gas vice president Erwin Friederich agrees with prescriptions that LPG applications will grow exponentially in the future.