The cost of cooking gas, also known as liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, has increased to N14,150 for a 12.5 kilogramme bag, representing a 38 percent YoY increase from the N10, 323.33 it sold in April of the previous year.
This is happening at the same time that the domestic market price of aviation fuel increased by 33%, from approximately N1,000 to between N1,300 and N1,500 per litre.
Nevertheless, investigations conducted by Energy Vanguard also revealed that, during that time, the cost of 5 kg of petrol rose by 37%, from N4, 642.27 to N5, 700.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, or NALPGM, President, Mr. Oladapo Olatunbosun, stated in an interview with Energy Vanguard that as long as the foreign exchange crisis persists, cooking gas prices will rise.
“The price of LPG is still priced and determined by the flow of foreign exchange, so it is expected that it will follow suit when the foreign exchange increases.”
“Despite the declaration of the decade of gas and the government’s push to make gas a transition fuel, low production and rising prices have continued to push Nigerians away from the use of cooking gas,” stated Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of Petroleum (Gas).
“You have witnessed the federal government’s demonstration as they have removed all tariffs and levies associated with the import of equipment linked to gas. It is a significant motivator for the problem.
“We are communicating with the important parties to make sure that cooking gas is not exported. Domesticating all cooking gas produced in the nation will be necessary, and once this is done, the volume will rise and the price will inevitably plummet.
“I have virtually daily meetings with the regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and gas producers, including Mobil, Chevron, and Shell. Thus, there is optimism that things will improve.
That is not how it will seem. We have human beings on our hands. Since the strategy has been implemented, investors seek to maximise the gains they will receive overall. We have to come in at the end of the day. To ensure that they crash the price, that is why you have the regulator and we are interacting with them.
Further investigation, however, revealed that a large number of homes, particularly in rural and suburban regions outside of cities, have started using firewood more frequently, which is contributing to the country’s deforestation.