Rising Cooking Gas Prices Worry FG as Government Moves to Stop Export

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Again, the federal government has moved to stop the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, as prices continue to skyrocket across the country.

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, yesterday expressed deep concern over the continuous increase in the price of the commodity, stressing that despite efforts to address the issue, prices had continued to fluctuate, recently soaring to N1,500.
This new price  increased from an average of N1,100  to N1,250 per kg that it sold in previous months.

Recall that in a move to tackle the soaring price of cooking gas, the  minister had established a high-level committee in November 2023, led by the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, and comprising key stakeholders in the LPG value chain.Ekpo, yesterday in Abuja, according to a statement by his spokesman, Louis Ibah, convened a meeting with stakeholders to address the skyrocketing price and its attendant hardship on Nigerians.

To combat this, the gas minister, the statement said, has issued several directives, ranging from short term to long term solutions.
As part of the short term solutions, the statement said: “ With effect from November 1, 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and LPG producers are to stop exporting LPG produced in-country, or import equivalent volumes of LPG exported at cost reflective prices,” the minister said.

On pricing framework, Ekpo directed that the NMDPRA will engage stakeholders to create a domestic LPG pricing framework within 90 days, indexing price to cost of in-country production.

He stated that this should be done rather than the current practice of indexing against external markets, such as the Americas and Far East Asia, whereas the commodity is produced in-country.

He stated that the marketers expect Nigerian people to pay much higher price for an essential commodity the country is naturally endowed with.

On long-term solution, the minister stated that within 12 months, facilities will be developed to blend, store, and deliver LPG, ending exports until the market achieves sufficiency and price stability.

Ekpo’s directives, the statement said, are a step towards addressing the inherent challenges and ensuring Nigerians have access to affordable cooking gas.

“The new measures aim to improve availability and ensure affordability to protect Nigerians from the economic hardship caused by LPG price hike,” the minister said.

On Tuesday, THISDAY quoting figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), noted that the rising cost of energy had continued to take its toll on Nigerians, with the amount Nigerians buy LPG, rising by 60 per cent
Latest data released from the NBS showed that in the month of September, showed that for cooking gas, despite the federal government’s announcement of removal of Value Added Tax (VAT), the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder increased by 4.19 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N6,430.02 recorded in August 2024 to N6,699.63 in September 2024.

On a year-on year basis, this increased by 59.90 per cent from N4,189.96 in September 2023.

However, on a state profile analysis, Rivers recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas, with N7,285.71, followed by Gombe with N7,271.88, and Borno with N7,089.72.

On the other hand, Kebbi recorded the lowest price with N5,950.00, followed by Kano and Benue with N6,133.33 and N6,143.52 respectively. In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-east recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder with N6,929.02, followed by the South-east with N6,893.47 while the North-west recorded the lowest with N6,382.30.

Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder increased by 4.89 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N15,552.56 in August 2024 to N16,313.43 in September 2024.

On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 76.41 per cent from N9,247.40 in September 2023. On state profile analysis, Rivers recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder.