Nigeria bans exports of cooking gas as prices plummet – Minister | Headline News
The federal government said it is working with key sectors to halt exports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, due to rising prices.
The federal government has announced that it will domesticate all LPG produced in the country in a bid to crash gas prices.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, disclosed this at the opening of an internal stakeholder workshop held in Abuja on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the workshop across the gas value chain on repositioning the country’s gas sector is “Using Nigeria’s proven gas reserves for economic growth and development.”
“All LPG produced in the country needs to be domesticated, and once this is done, volumes will increase and of course prices will automatically collapse.
“I am in contact with the regulator, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and LPG producers such as Chevron, Mobil and Shell, and we have daily meetings.
“There is hope that the situation will improve and there is no need to make a fuss about it. It is on this basis that we are undertaking such efforts to find out the problems and deal with them once and for all,” Ekpo said.
Ekpo said he was working with the Presidential Initiative on CNG to achieve the goal of converting vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) to mitigate the impact of the removal of fuel subsidies.
“As soon as we have a clearer understanding of that, we will respond accordingly,” he said. It added that the impact would not be reflected in that way. Policies are in place to maximize profits.
“But at the end of the day, we need the regulators to step in and work with the regulators to make sure that prices crash,” he said.
He said the demonstrations by the federal government to remove all taxes and levies on imports of gas-related equipment have been a major stimulus.
The workshop also featured a presentation by Mr. Oluremi Komolafe, Director-General of the Ministry's Gas Department, on the highlights of the Minister's consultations with national gas sector operators on 6 February.
He said the operators' recommendations called for gas prices to be balanced, taking into account the impact on the average consumer, which is essential for sustainable sector growth.
Komorav said LPG retailers have asked the minister to consider the issue of price hikes as cooking gas has become relatively unaffordable for the common man.
He said retailers stressed that rising prices could jeopardize clean cooking efforts, making charcoal an attractive and cheaper alternative.
“They also cited the issue of substandard gas cylinders as a major challenge and called on the ministry to look into the issue and enact a national cylinder and accessories policy to curb it.” she said.
According to a NAN check, the price of cooking gas increased from N950 to N1,400 per kg in January 2024.
Source: guardian.ng