22^nd Fuel Branch Meeting

Shaping the Future of the LPG Market: Highlights from the 22nd Fuel Industry Meeting - Polish LPG Market

For two days, Poznań became the central meeting hub for a wide range of representatives from the Polish and international LPG industry. On October 7-8, 2026, the Novotel & Ibis Poznań Centrum hotel hosted the 22nd edition of the "Fuel Industry Meeting - Polish LPG Market". The event gathered nearly 180 participants who converged to discuss the most critical challenges, future outlooks, and strategic directions currently facing the liquefied petroleum gas sector. This year’s edition once again demonstrated that in a rapidly evolving market environment, direct exchanges of experience and insights are of paramount importance. During networking sessions and panel discussions, attendees explored both current market conditions and the key drivers shaping its future.

The conference was traditionally opened by Robert Bukowski, CEO of Information Market S.A., who welcomed participants and introduced the event's sponsors. Flogas Polska served as the Strategic Sponsor, with Latvijas Propāna Gāze and Danske Gas as official sponsors.

Panel I: Macroeconomic and Global Perspectives

The opening analytical panel focused on various aspects of the domestic and global socio-economic and political landscape influencing the dynamic shifts in the LPG market over the past year. The keynote presentation was delivered by Dr. Szymon Araszkiewicz and Dr. Jakub Bogucki, representatives of the Organizer, who reviewed key developments in collaborative Polish fuel markets and their environment in recent months alongside their impact on the LPG sector.

The speakers dedicated considerable attention to the historical evolution of Poland’s LPG supply sources, structural changes forced by the 2025 sanctions, and the 2026 Middle East crisis. They also addressed the state of the vehicle fleet and consumer interest in autogas conversions in the context of the "Lower Fuel Prices" package, which supports petrol and diesel vehicle drivers while omitting autogas. Furthermore, Bogucki and Araszkiewicz analysed domestic LPG demand and seasonality trends in recent years, as well as autogas margins from the perspective of station suppliers and operators. They encouraged participants to explore the upcoming edition of the "Polish Fuel Market 2026/2027" report-prepared by Information Market S.A.-which provides a comprehensive diagnosis of key trends in the domestic fuel market, including a ranking of the top 40 LPG companies in Poland.

Providing a global perspective, Jamie Aldridge, Chief Energy Analyst at Dow Jones Energy, outlined a series of risks linked to the current geopolitical and economic climate. He drew attention to less visible or distant regions whose conditions directly impact European import prices (such as Panama and Asian markets). The speaker explained in detail the significance of the Mont Belvieu hub for global supply and discussed the "rescue" role of US exports amid the 2026 Middle East crisis. His presentation offered a rigorous analysis of the growing share of US exports across European and Mediterranean regional markets. He also addressed the supply dynamics and pricing of isobutane in recent months, North Sea production availability, and forecasts for US exports. Additionally, he highlighted increasingly important supply directions often underestimated from a European standpoint: Argentina’s Vaca Muerta and Canada’s REEF.

Addressing current energy challenges, Dr. Szymon Kardaś from the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw delivered a presentation on the role of energy commodities as foreign policy instruments in contemporary international relations. As a prime example, the speaker pointed to Russia’s long-standing strategy-rooted in Soviet-era policies-of fostering European dependence on its fossil fuels. He subsequently evaluated the current state of energy security in the European Union, which had to completely overhaul its supply architecture following the severance of direct ties. The expert emphasized that supply diversification brings new challenges, including competition with Asian markets for resources and vulnerability to global conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Red Sea region, which destabilize critical maritime routes and trade bottlenecks. He also highlighted profound transformations on the global energy map, including Russia's pivot toward Asia and the rising prominence of Middle Eastern suppliers.

Panel II: Strategic Challenges and the New Reality of the Polish LPG Sector

The second conference panel centered on the strategic challenges and new operational reality of the Polish liquefied petroleum gas sector, featuring an extensive multi-perspective discussion among industry leaders. The panel discussion included: Ewa Gawryś-Osińska (CEO and Managing Director, Gaspol S.A.), Paweł Bielski (CEO, Polski Gaz S.A.), Adam Lewandowski (CEO, Bałtykgaz Sp. z o.o.), Grażyna Pawlak (Vice President, Unimot Paliwa Sp. z o.o.), and Konrad Malec (General Manager, Flogas Polska Sp. z o.o.).

The debate summarized years of profound market transformation and addressed current operating conditions. A key topic was the state of the LPG cylinder market, focusing on questions of its decline versus stabilization. The discussion also covered challenges facing the autogas sector amidst dynamic automotive market shifts, overall market structures, and future forecasts. Opening with a review of 2025 and the massive logistical shift associated with completely phasing out Russian gas supplies, subsequent questions addressed the operational realities of 2026 and company outlooks. During the hour-long debate, Ewa Gawryś-Osińska evaluated the prospects for LPG infrastructure in Poland, while Paweł Bielski focused on regulatory and legal complications facing the industry. Adam Lewandowski discussed the tank segment from a safety perspective, Grażyna Pawlak compared LPG with traditional fuels based on Unimot Paliwa's experience, and Konrad Malec explored alternative applications of LPG and broad market prospects. To conclude, all experts shared their "golden fish wish," highlighting key industry challenges for the coming years.

Concluding the second panel, Ivan Buian of Latvijas Propāna Gāze SIA delivered a dynamic presentation examining LPG markets in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia following the implementation of sanctions on Russian gas imports. Using an analytical framework, he illustrated shifts in supply and demand levels across individual countries against the backdrop of Europe’s logistical transition away from Russian-origin gas. The speaker chronologically outlined milestones in achieving energy independence, elaborating on market phenomena illustrated through interactive maps and charts, and concluded with forecasts for regional Baltic gas terminal operations in the coming years.

Panel III: Practical Solutions and Legal Framework

The third panel adopted a distinctly practical focus, opening with a presentation titled "Where Do Margins Escape? Process Automation as a Competitive Advantage in the LPG Industry," delivered by Mateusz Lubkowski from Suncode Sp. z o.o.. He explained how the company's solutions map any enterprise business process and demonstrated how implementing advanced AI-based document analysis drastically reduces task completion times and streamlines daily procedures. He also emphasized that projects are executed professionally using proven deployment methodologies, leveraging innovative technologies in business process automation, document digitalization, and robotic process automation.

The subsequent presentation addressed legal affairs. Experts Krzysztof Rutkowski and Mateusz Łapiński from KDCP (Kancelaria Doradztwa Celnego i Podatkowego Rutkowski i Wspólnicy Sp. z o.o.) provided a comprehensive review of regulatory issues affecting liquefied petroleum gas. They discussed the highly dynamic and demanding regulatory environment, drawing attention to critical legislative projects and legal changes confronting sector enterprises.

Key topics covered in the presentation included concession matters, such as new regulations and challenges regarding cylinder and cartridge concessions (discussing previous exemptions up to EUR 10,000 and potential shifts toward a quantitative threshold of 60,000 kg of LPG annually). The speakers also addressed controversies surrounding concessions for LPG networks supplying multiple residential buildings from a single tank.

Further sections covered the operation of the SENT monitoring system, fuel loss accounting, and the issue of dead stock in tanker trucks. The experts analyzed regulations associated with concession fees under the pending UD457 legislative project, highlighting the planned tenfold increase in the liquid fuels coefficient, the introduction of minimum fee thresholds, and the elimination of fee caps-measures posing a severe financial burden on market entities.

Additional critical areas examined included upcoming changes in energy efficiency obligations, the criteria determining which industry companies fall under the National Cybersecurity System and the EU NIS2 directive along with their legal implications, and storage regulations under project UD399 (focusing on cost adjustments and closing practices related to inventory management). The presentation concluded with an analysis of regulatory challenges surrounding the EU RED III directive and the outlook for bioLPG market development.

The conference proceedings concluded in the late afternoon, with participants continuing discussions in the corridors regarding the numerous topics raised across the three thematic panels. Bidding farewell to attendees in Poznań, the Organizer announced that next year's edition will take place in October 2027 at the Mercure Resort Szczyrk.