By Darlington UDOBONG
The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, has assured that Nigerians will soon enjoy a minimal and affordable price for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas.
The Minister, who gave the assurance in Abak on Friday during interaction with leading newspaper publishers and media personalities in Akwa Ibom State, highlighted steps taken by his Ministry to end the high cost of cooking gas, as well as the availability of gas for power generating companies.
According to him, part of the plan by the Federal Government to end the high cost of cooking gas “is to increase in-country circulation of LPG. This can be achieved through the establishment of gas plants at various parts of the country, which is what the Ministry is currently working on and advocating for.”
Explaining further, Obongemem Ekpo said “The reason for the current price hike is due to scarcity as a result of exportation. The high demand for it has also made the local dealers take advantage of the situation and sell at a higher rate. We are working seriously to arrest this situation through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which is saddled with the responsibility of gas price fixing.”
“Nigeria’s blending of LPG is 40:60 (propane and butane). But some companies produce and blend their gas to their specific blend like 50:50 or 30:70, which is not the blend that is needed here. So, recently, we convened a meeting with some IOCs urging them to stop selling their gas (LPG) outside the country. We have moved a step further to look for a bending plant that would blend it to our specification,” he explained.
He stressed that the Ministry is working round the clock to make the price of cooking gas minimal and affordable, saying “We have discussed how we can stop the export of gas by independent producers. When we stop the export of gas the price would come down.”
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