Price of 12.5kg Cooking Gas Hits N7,000

Nigeria’s LNG management expressed their frustration that marketers do not have enough facilities to manage its Liquefied Petroleum Gas supply.

The cost of filling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas has increased from an average of N6,200 in July 2021 to N7,000 as of September 2021. This is about a 13% increase in the price of cooking gas.

The marketers claimed that foreign investors underestimated demand in the Nigerian market resulting in marketers venturing into importation of the product.

Reports from consumers revealed that the cost of refilling a 12.5-kilogramme cylinder of LPG had risen to as high as N7000 in some states.

The marketers had also urged the government to remove cooking gas from the list of commodities subject to the payment of value added tax.

The marketing manager of NLNG, Austin Ogbogbo, in a response to the claim made by the IPMAN said that the marketers did not have enough infrastructure to take up the gas the company supplied

He said, “NLNG has grown its capacity from 50,000 metric tonnes per annum to 450,000 metric tonnes per annum of LPG in the past 14 years.

“Nigeria needs 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum, but even the 450,000 we produce cannot be absorbed by the market’s current infrastructure.

“We only operate in the midstream sub sector of the industry so we are only responsible for supplying to the market.

“The downstream players are responsible for the distribution to the end users, and also building the infrastructure to ensure it is done efficiently. It is out of our scope.”

He assured the public that the company would grow its LPG capacity if it confirmed that distributors could take up additional supply.

Joy Bright, a consumer who is based in Oke Afa, Ogun State, expressed her fears over the rising cost of cooking gas in the area from N6,200 per 12.5 kg to N7,200 within 6 weeks.

“I was not surprised when the attendant told me the price because I had said in July that the cost will rise further.

“I had no choice but to buy it, as other alternatives are not options for me. I would not have felt it much if the power supply was regular,” she said.