By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria imported a total of 61,884.291 metric tonnes (MT) of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, in March 2022.
This was disclosed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in its latest gas report, which covers the third month of the year.
This indicated that the total gas import rose by 107.61 per cent from the 29,807.591 MT imported in February.
According to the NMDPRA, the totality of Nigeria’s 61,884.291 MT cooking gas import, represented 47.9 per cent of the total cooking gas supplied in the country in the month under review.
In terms of destinations, there were no changes as the United States of America and Argentina topped the suppliers of the commodity to Nigeria. They also topped in the previous month.
Furthermore, NMDPRA noted that five companies — Algasco LPG Services Limited, Prudent Energy and Services Limited, Rainoil Limited, NIPCO and Techno Oil Limited — were responsible for Nigeria’s total cooking gas import in March 2022.
According to the report, in the month under review, Algasco imported 22,389.781 MT of LPG from the US; Prudent Energy imported two consignments of LPG from the US, comprising 4,020.031 MT and 4,177.380 MT, while Rainoil brought in 7,512.035 MT of the commodity from Argentina.
In addition, NIPCO and Techno imported 12,129.213 MT and 11,665.851 MT, respectively, from the USA.
The downstream and midstream regulator, also known as the authority, further stated that a total of 129,291.824 MT of LPG was supplied in Nigeria in March, appreciating by 67.57 per cent from 77,158.292 MT recorded in the previous month.
According to the organisation, of the total cooking gas supplied in March, 67,407.533 MT, representing 52.14 per cent of the total LPG supplied in Nigeria, was sourced locally; in comparison, 47,350.701 MT of the commodity was sourced locally in February 2022.
In the local category, the agency, formerly known as the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), reported that Matrix Energy sourced 8,060.224 MT and 6,056.868 MT of LPG from Bonny River Terminal, which it then supplied to the Nigerian market.
Algasco sourced 6,881.480 MT and 13,444.576 MT of cooking gas from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Bonny for supply to the local market; NIPCO and 11 Plc supplied 13,426.615 MT, sourced from NLNG, Bonny; while Stockgap also sourced 9,771.583 MT and 9,766.187 MT of LPG from NLNG.
Furthermore, the NMDPRA disclosed that Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Limited, Kwale, Delta State, supplied 9,681.650 MT of propane in March 2022; while Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Oredo, Benin and Greenville Natural Gas Limited, Rumuji, Rivers State supplied 1,893.450 MT and 291.650 MT of propane, respectively.
Modupe Gbadeyanka