The Nigerian government has banned the exportation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, in a bid to increase its volume domestically to warrant a crash in price.
Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, broke the news to reports at the “Internal Stakeholders’ Workshop,” in Abuja.
According to him, the decision follows the recent jump in the cost of cooking gas.
Findings showed that the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and some other states had climbed to about N18,000. It was specifically N17,500 in Abuja on Thursday, a product that sold for less than N9,000 in November last year.
LPG dealers under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers had predicted mid-last year that a 12.5kg cylinder would cost N18,000 going by the incessant hikes in its cost.
To tackle this, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, constituted a committee in November 2023, headed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed.
But up till today (Thursday), the cost of the commodity has maintained a northward movement, as many LPG users are gradually shifting to the use of charcoal.
But while speaking on the sidelines of the internal stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja on Thursday, Ekpo stated that the Federal Government had asked LPG producers to stop exporting the commodity.
Asked what the government has done to control the rising cost of domestic gas, he said, the ministry is discussing constantly with critical stakeholders like the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and operators such as Mobil, Chevron, and Shell to address the issue.
He explained that once there is a stoppage of the export of locally produced domestic gas, there will be more volume for the domestic market which will automatically reduce the price of the product.
His words: “We are interacting with critical stakeholders to ensure that there is no exportation of LPG.
“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 regulation, NMDPRA, we hold meetings almost on daily basis, and the producers such as Mobil, Chevron, and Shell. So there is that hope that things will turn around. We don’t need to make noise about it.”
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