Nigerians will enjoy availability of more Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise called cooking gas next year and beyond
The development was sequel to the plan by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), plans to work with other stakeholders to enhance the penetration of cooking gas deliveries into the domestic market beyond just through Apapa.
Already the company said it will continue to deliver to Lagos, depending on access to terminals in Lagos, and to Stockgap Terminal in Port Harcourt in fulfillment of its commitment of 350,000 MT per annum to the domestic market.
Sophia Horsfall, Manager, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, NLNG, told DAILY INDEPENDENT that her company has implemented initiatives that have encouraged investors to invest in establishing terminals across the country.
She said the developments have led to the development of additional coastal facilities to support market spread.
‘’Following the conclusion of technical approval processes required to deliver product to the Stockgap Terminal in Port Harcourt, we commenced delivery to this terminal in October 2019. Going forward, NLNG will deliver LPG to the Nigeria market via the Stockgap terminal and the 2 terminals in Lagos as well as any other terminals that pass the strict technical compatibility and safety reviews.
“As part of its effort to help build a better Nigeria, NLNG in 2007 took the decision to champion the deepening of the domestic cooking gas market and has remained the major local supplier of LPG volumes into the Nigerian market.
“This effort has ensured availability of the product through a dedicated volume of up to 350,000 MT per annum which has helped stabilise supply and price. NLNG has delivered over 40,000 MT to Navgas and NOJ in Lagos since September 2019. The charted LPG vessel arrived Lagos on November 10 with another cargo of 12,000 MT.
Early this month, members of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) are not happy with the increasing price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also called cooking gas.
The marketers, reacting to the unwarranted price hike of the product, noted that this is happening despite concerted efforts of the government and stakeholders to deepen the use of LPG in the country.
Mr. Bassey Essien, NALGAM Executive Secretary, in a document by the group, said at this time of the year in the past, price hikes used to be attributable to winter and increased demand for heating energy and international price index.
‘’We have consistently questioned why a product in abundance in our country should become a victim of issues occurring internationally,’’ he said.
He said within the last one week, LPG price has soared and marketers did not know the cause. The price hike would dovetail into consumers paying more for the product. The consumers would blame marketers who are also caught up in the price hikes, Essien said.
Within five days, the price of a 20-metric tonne (MT) of LPG, which sold for N3.15 million, jumped to N3.5 million, N3.9 million and within a few hours moved to N4.2 million, despite that the product has been in the storage of the terminals when the price was even sub N3.5 million, so why the sudden upsurge, he queried.
