In a bid to attract more investment into Nigeria’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has introduced new guidelines to accommodate more investors and operators across the country.
The new guidelines are in line with the federal government plan to achieve over five million metric tonnes (5,000,000 MT) of domestic, commercial and industrial LPG utilisation in 10 years.
“We have a lot of people coming into the sector to invest and DPR is on ground to ensure that they follow the regulatory requirements. We have brought out new guidelines to encourage investors and anybody that wants to operate in the sector should follow the guidelines,” DPR’s Ayorinde Cardoso said during a public sensitisation exercise on safe usage of LPG.
Most stakeholders have said investment in Nigeria’s LPG sector will facilitate job and wealth creation by reducing deforestation and greenhouse emissions and promoting domestic gas value chain development in the nation.
Investment in Nigeria’s LPG terminal is also expected to pivot Lagos State and Nigeria at large to a gas-powered economy, which would offer an array of economic and environmental benefits to its residents. The terminal is expected to generate up to 2,000 jobs in the months ahead.
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Cardoso noted that DPR is collaborating with the Lagos State Government and other stakeholders to improve safety in gas storage, sales and distribution.
“The department shut down 85 LPG plants in Lagos in the last 10 months (January to October),” Cardoso said.
This is coming at a time of several reported cases of explosions by gas plants during the year in Lagos State with several fatalities and destructions of properties. Some of them were said to have either been operating in residential areas or without approval.
The DPR top official who said the move is to reduce the frequent occurrence of gas explosion in the state, revealed that the LPG plants were shut down due to their inability to comply with international safety standards and also operating without approval or licence from the DPR.
Cardoso who reiterated that the clampdown on those illegal plants will be a continuous exercise said the agency will sensitize the public on the importance of safe usage and distribution of gas.
Being a signatory to the Paris treaty on the reduction of global warming, Nigeria is mandated to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 20 per cent by 2030. If properly implemented, the Federal Government’s LPG policy, which aimed at boosting cooking gas penetration and sanitising the sub-sector would therefore go a long way in promoting use of cleaner sources of energy.
