By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s supply of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas declined by 20.5 per cent in August 2021 to 85,264.803 Metric Tonnes (MT) compared with the previous month.
This was disclosed by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in its LPG report released in Abuja.
The decline came as companies desperately sought suppliers in different countries including the USA, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea to meet the local shortfall.
The data showed that 38,040.457 MT was sourced locally by Ever Oil, Stockgap, NIPCO, 11 plc, Greenville Natural Gas, PNG Gas Ltd, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Ltd, and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Ltd.
It showed that 47,224.346 MT was imported by NIPCO, Matrix, Algasco, Techno Oil, Prudent, A.A Rano and Stockgap.
The report further revealed that 21,606.301 MT was imported from the USA, 13,044.266 MT imported from Algeria and 12,573.779 MT brought into the country from Equatorial Guinea.
The report noted that “The volume of LPG supplied in August suggests a decrease of about 21,959.781mt compared to 107,224.584 MT supplied in the month of July.
“In addition, 102,787.234 MT was also supplied in the Month of June.”
According to the report, out of the 38,040.457 MT sourced locally, 7,042.058 MT was sourced by Ever Oil, 9,429.761 MT by Stockgap, 7,687.112 MT by NIPCO, 4,761.626 MT by 11 plc and 440.380 MT by GreenvilleRumuji, Rivers State.
It stated that PNG Gas Ltd in Ebedei, Delta State supplied 651.490 MT into the market, while NPDC, Oredo, Edo State provided 1,055.310 MT and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Ltd Kwale, Delta State, discharged 6,972.720 MT.
“Similarly, 11,262.04 MT of propane was sourced locally and supplied into the energy market by NPDC and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon,” it said.
The report revealed that since the declaration of the “Decade of Gas” by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, the nation had witnessed a significant increase in the volume of LPG produced locally.
This, it said, was due to the commitment of the federal government in promoting gas penetration, to ensure a clean source of energy for cooking, power generation and transportation.
It said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the first law that recognises the oil and gas midstream sector, would promote and protect gas-based investments and optimise the nation’s enormous gas potential while ensuring that Nigeria transits to become a net-zero emission nation.
The PPPRA reiterated its continued support for the federal government’s policy to deepen LPG penetration in the country and create a healthy life for Nigerians.
Modupe Gbadeyanka