THE FEDERAL government says it is interacting with the critical sectors to halt exportation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, in view of its rising cost, adding that all LPG produced within the country would be domesticated to crash the price of gas.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, disclosed this at the opening of its Internal Stakeholders’ Workshop on Thursday in Abuja.
The workshop which draws participants from across the gas value chain on repositioning the nation’s gas sector, has its theme as “Harnessing Nigeria’s Proven Gas Reserves for Economic Growth and Development”.
The minister said: “All LPG produced within the country will have to be domesticated and when this is done the volume will increase and of course the price will automatically crash.
“I am in contact with the regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the producers of LPG such as Chevron, Mobile and Shell, we have meetings on daily basis.
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“There is hope that things will turn around, we do not need to make noise about it and it is based on this that we having this engagement to find out the problems and address them once and for all.”
On conversion of vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, Ekpo said he has been interfacing with the Presidential Initiative on CNG towards realising the goal.
He said: “The moment I get clearer picture about it, I will address you accordingly,” adding that the impact on withdrawal of taxes and levies from gas related equipment would not reflect that way, because the investors are humans and would like to maximise profit, though the policy has been put in place. But at the end of the day the regulators have to come in and interface with them to ensure they crash the price.”
According to him, the demonstration by the federal government by withdrawing all taxes and levies from importation of gas related equipment is a big incentive.
The workshop also featured a presentation by Mrs Oluremi Komolafe, Director Gas of the ministry on highlights from the minister’s consultation with the operators in the nations’ gas sector in Feb. 6.
Speaking on the recommendations by the operators, she said they called for balancing gas pricing while considering the impact on the average consumer is imperative for sustainable sectoral growth.
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Komolafe said the LPG retailers urged the Minister to look into the issue of soaring price of cooking gas as it had become relatively un-affordable to the common man.
She said the retailers highlighted that the surge in price was capable of jeopardising the clean cooking initiative and made the use of charcoal attractive and cheaper alternative.
“They also mentioned the issue of substandard gas cylinders as a great challenge and called on the Ministry to look into the issue and enact a national cylinder and accessories policy to curb it,’’ she said. NAN checks showed that cooking gas price increased to N1,400 as against N950 per kg in January, 2024. (NAN)
