Cooking gas consumption drops as Nigeria imports product from U.S, Angola – PPPRA
By Akpobor Jirue, Abuja
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, (PPPRA) has said the volume of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas consumed by Nigerians in August 2021 stood at 85,264.803 metric tonnes (MT).
The figure represents 20.4% drop when compared to the 107,224.584 MT supplied in the month of July.
According to a report signed by Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, released to the media in Abuja on Thursday, the country imported cooking gas from the U.S., Angola and Equatorial Guinea, during the period under review.
The importation is coming on the heels of government declaration of 2021 – 2030 as a decade of gas, as well as rising cost of the product in recent times.
A breakdown of the supply report shows that 38,040.457 MT was sourced locally by Ever Oil, Stockgap, NIPCO, 11 plc, Greenville Natural Gas, PNG Gas Ltd, NPDC and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Ltd, while 47,224.346 MT was imported by NIPCO, Matrix, Algasco, Techno Oil, Prudent, A.A Rano, Stockgap.
The report stated that, “Analysis of the data on importation in the month of August, shows that 21,606.301 MT was imported from the USA, while 13,044.266 was imported from Algeria and 12,573.779 MT was brought into the country from Equatorial Guinea.”
The volume of LPG supplied in August suggests a decrease of about 21,959.781 MT compared to the 107,224.584 MT supplied in the month of July. In addition, 102,787.234MT was also supplied in the Month of June.
On the other hand, out of the 38,040.457 MT sourced locally, 7,042.058 MT was sourced by Ever oil, 9,429.761 MT by Stockgap, 7,687.112 MT by NIPCO, 4,761.626 MT by 11 plc and 440.380 MT by Greenville Rumuji, River State.
Also, PNG Gas Ltd in Ebedei, Delta State supplied 651.490 MT into the market, while NPDC, Oredo, Benin State provided 1,055.310 MT and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Ltd Kwale, Delta State, discharged 6,972.720MT.
Similarly, 11,262.04MT of propane was sourced locally and supplied into the energy market by NPDC and Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon.
Despite the dismissal local production reported, the PPPRA boss stated that, “It is worthy of note that since the declaration of the “Decade of Gas”, by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, the nation has witnessed a significant increase in the volume of LPG produced locally.
“This is due to the commitment of the Federal Government in promoting gas penetration, to ensure a clean source of energy for cooking, power generation and transportation.
“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as the first law that recognizes the Oil and Gas midstream sector will promote and protect gas-based “investments and optimize the nation’s enormous gas potentials while ensuring that Nigeria transit to become a net-zero emission nation.
“The PPPRA wishes to reiterate its continued support for the Federal Government’s policy to deepen LPG penetration in the country and create a healthy life for Nigerians,” he said.
