In light of the recent spike in prices nationwide, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), has instructed regulatory bodies to crack down on sellers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly referred to as cooking gas.
Ekpo called some marketers’ conduct exploitative in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Louis Ibah, on Monday. He also issued a warning that the government would not permit Nigerians to endure excessive suffering.
In the last few weeks, the average price of cooking gas has increased from ₦1,000 to ₦2,000 per kilogram in several regions of the nation.
The spike came after continuing maintenance at the Nigeria LNG Train 4 facility and the strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) during its confrontation with the Dangote refinery.
The strike was put on hold about two weeks ago, but scarcity and high costs have persisted.
“The PENGASSAN strike at the Dangote refinery temporarily halted LPG loading, while the maintenance work at NLNG reduced the volume of gas available in the domestic market,” Ekpo explained in his explanation of the reasons behind the scarcity.
He pointed out that the severe price increase was caused by a shortage of supply brought on by these disruptions.
However, the minister reassured Nigerians that the supply was already getting better.
“LPG loading to the domestic market has already begun at the Dangote refinery, where operations have resumed. Seplat Energy’s Bonny River Terminal has also started to load, and NLNG is progressively returning to regular operations as its maintenance is almost finished, Ekpo said.
He went on to say that these changes will cause supply to stabilize by next week, which would cause prices to gradually decline.
The minister warned marketers, distributors, and other players against hoarding stocks or taking advantage of customers for financial gain, while underlining that the LPG industry is still unregulated.
“Stakeholders in the deregulated LPG market must act patriotically in their interactions. The statement said, “They should stop hoarding and stop taking advantage of customers for financial gain.”
Ekpo further revealed that in order to prevent hoarding and sharp tactics, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has been instructed to step up its supervision of LPG depots around the country.
He reminded Nigerians that the Federal Government was still dedicated to making sure that every home in the nation has access to a substantial and reasonably priced supply of gas.
