Price OF Cooking Gas Continues To Soars As Retailers, Consumers Lament: Report

The price of cooking gas has risen by more than 60 per cent since early December last year as a result of the recent devaluation of the naira and lingering inadequate domestic supply of the fuel.

The Nigerian states with the highest average refilling price for cooking gas as of 2021 were Bauchi, Anambra, and Borno.

The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, has skyrocketed to a record high of N500 per kilogramme, forcing some Nigerians to turn to alternatives means for cooking food.

The price of 20MT of LPG sold by terminal operators and importers surged by 30.91 per cent in six months.

A gas plant in Lagos refilled a 12.5kg cylinder for LPG for N5,200 on July 17, up from N4,400 on June 17 and N3,200 in November/December 2020.

The National Chairman of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Branch of NUPENG, Chika Umudu, attributed the price hike to the country’s high dependence on importation for LPG.

“As the dollar is appreciating against the naira, the price of LPG is increasing,” he added. The increase in the price of cooking gas had affected the quantity of food sold to customers by food vendors as well as household consumption.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers, Bassey Essien, said with 20MT of LPG being sold for over N7m, marketers were spending what they used in buying 40MT some months ago to get 20MT.

There is a need for the domestic supply to be increased so that we can have less dependence on importation,”Essien added.

During a press briefing with newsmen at the state house in Abuja, Minister of States for Petroleum resources Timipre Sylva said that the federal govenment is set to intervene in the high cost of cooking gas in the country

Nigeria’s Natural gas reserves are well over 5 trillion m³, being several times as substantial as the crude oil Reserves. The biggest natural gas operator is the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company which began exploration and production in 1999. Currently, a lot of effort is being placed towards making use of the abundant reserves of associated gas and reduced flaring.

Flaring mainly happens when gas is produced as a byproduct of oil extraction. If there is no infrastructure to put this “associated gas” to productive use, it is simply burned off.

LPG is produced during oil refining or is extracted during the natural gas production process. If you release LPG, gas is emitted. … It can then be stored and transported in LPG cylinders. Natural gas is extracted from deep within the earth and can contain ethane, propane, butane and pentane.

In June, Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva says the country accidentally discovered 206 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves while in search of crude oil. HE said that the country could discover an additional 600 trillion cubic feet reserve to enable it achieve the desired development required of a gas nation.

Despite the availability of abundant gas reserves; what is responsible for this continuous hike in price of liquefied petroleum gas?

In 2007, consumption was about 50,000 to 70,000 metric tonnes, compared to over one million metric tonnes today; our domestic consumption of LPG was supposed to have been sourced from the refineries.

Even the Nigeria LNG Limited just increased its domestic supply of LPG from 350,000 metric tonnes to 450,000 MT this year.

If consumption has increased to over one million MT, and NLNG is supplying 450,000 MT per annum, then the difference IS MOST DEFINETLY FROMSOMEWHERE, Most of the gas consumed in Nigeria is imported, with the associated high costs, based on foreign exchange availability. Hence the increase in price.

Being the cleanest fossil fuel, Nigeria’s government is looking to transition into zero emission through the maximum utilization of gas; that is another factor to consider.