TEHRAN, May 15 (Shana) � The managing director of the World LPG Association (WLPGA) says liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) can address many of the world's energy challenges given its cleanness, abundance and cheapness and Iran is to become the Middle East's biggest supplier of the item in the post-sanctions setting.

Speaking to Shana on the sidelines of an LPG conference arranged by Argus here in Tehran on May 9, James Rockall said, "There are a lot of energy challenges that the world is facing; energy challenges such as energy security, lack of access to clean energy, air pollution, growing GDP, growing populations in countries that don't have infrastructure for clean energy right now."

He said these things are going to produce demand for LPG, particularly for residential demand because LPG is a unique source of energy in a bottle, it is a modern energy that can go anywhere.

"If you look at Iran in post-sanctions, Iran is going to become the largest exporter of LPG in the Middle East. Which is 40% of exports," said Rockall.

"The countries where the demand is going to be the greatest are close-by; we are looking at south Southeast Asia, we are looking at east Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. So these are markets that Iran could export into," he added.

He said WLPGA would like to work with the Iranian industry to help accelerate the development of those markets because strategically it is in the interests of Iranian producers to have markets to export into right now there is a lot of competition on the supply side.

"You are competing with Saudi Aramco, Qatar, etc. you are competing in the same markets. If you can grow markets, you will provide opportunities for everyone," he added.

The World LPG Association (WLPGA) is the authoritative voice of the global LPG industry representing the full LPG value chain. The primary goal of the Association is to add value to the sector by driving premium demand for LPG, while also promoting compliance to good business and safety practices.

The WLPGA brings together over 200 private and public companies operating in more than 125 countries involved in one, several or all activities of the industry ; develops long-term partnerships with international organizations ; and implements projects on local and global scales. The Association was established in 1987 and granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1989.

By SHANA