By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has emerged the top consumer of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas in West Africa as consumption of the commodity reached over one million metric tonnes (MT) in 2020.
According to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), this was the first time in the history of the country the consumption was hitting such.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr Abdulkadir Saidu, it was disclosed that Nigeria’s LPG consumption improved significantly from the 840,594.37 MT recorded in 2019.
He added that the 2019 LPG also represented a 60.5 per cent improvement over the 635,452.061 MT recorded in 2018.
“This steady and sustained pattern of growth culminating in the over one million metric tonnes of LPG domestic consumption milestone in 2020 has placed the country first in West Africa and one of the leading LPG consuming nations on the continent.
“With this laudable feat, the country is on track to meet the five million MT by 2022 target, set in the Nigerian Gas Policy (NGP) of 2017, which translates to an average of one million MT per year, provided we collectively sustain and ramp up intervention efforts and initiatives of the government and all stakeholders.
“The federal government’s resolve to deepen LPG penetration in the country seeks to create a healthier life for all Nigerians by providing access to a cleaner source of energy for cooking, vehicular transportation and other domestic uses.
“The attainment of the one million MT domestic utilization milestone is a testimony to the progress made so far in ensuring the provision of alternative sources of fueling to Nigerians in place of the traditional Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and altering the nation’s energy mix in favour of locally-available options,” the PPPRA boss said.
Mr Saidu noted that the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has increased its allocation of LPG to the domestic market from 350,000 MT to 450,000 MT in 2021 in order to support this laudable goal.
In addition, he added that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently commenced LPG production and load-out in its newly commissioned Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC) Oredo Gas handling facility, which has an estimated production stream of 330 MT daily.
He said: “The remarkable growth in the domestic LPG market remains largely driven by the impact of the Federal Government’s policies and programmes, coupled with the efforts of relevant stakeholders and regulatory bodies in the industry, all of which have led to the entrance of new players (investors) in the sector due to the creation of an enabling environment.
“The avowed commitment of His Excellency Mr President and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, to the Gas Revolution Agenda remains the game changer and key growth driver.
“The culmination of the Year of Gas with the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) Autogas rollout, is expected to foster exponential growth within the industry as more and more Nigerians begin to embrace the utilization of LPG/CNG as fuel for their automobiles.
“We wish to assure all stakeholders that the PPPRA remains steadfast in its commitment to growing the LPG/Gas value chain to such heights that deliver maximum dividends to Nigeria and Nigerians.”
Dipo Olowookere