Nigerians may soon have access to petroleum liquefied gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, at cheaper rates as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it is set to halt the export of propane and butane, the major gases in the production of the commodity.
Ndu Ughamadu, group general manager, public affairs of NNPC, said in a statement that the move to stop the export of propane and butane would enable the corporation boost the supply of LPG to the domestic market, thereby leading to a natural downward slide in the price of the product in the country.
Average refilling price of 12.5kg of gas was N4,242 in November 2018, down from N4,438 a month earlier, according to information obtained from Open Data for Africa website. It was N4,376 in September and N4,366 in August 2018.
For 5kg of gas, the average refilling price was N2,054 in November 2018, down from N2,145 in the previous month. It sold for N2,107 in September while for August, the price was N2,054, according to Open Data for Africa.
“Currently, some of our butane and propane entitlements are exported largely due to lack of vessels to make sure that these things come into the domestic markets and the absence of a commercial framework. What we are going to do is to make sure we put the right commercial framework in place so that those exports are converted into domestic consumption,” the statement quoted Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD), as saying.
The division was working with stakeholders to create the enabling environment for local production of LPG and cessation of export of the country’s equity butane and propane entitlements due to absence of in-country vessels for transport and other considerations, Kyari said at a strategy session.
He added that the division planned to complete this year the automation process in the marketing and sale of Nigerian crude oil grades, which started in 2017
