The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Liquefied and Compressed Gases Association (NLCGA), Mr Lanrewaju Baiyewu, has said the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, dropped by as much as 40 per cent from their June peak following renewed collaboration among key players across the domestic gas value chain.
Baiyewu disclosed this while speaking at an industry event in Lagos, attributing the improvement to coordinated interventions by the federal government, terminal operators, off-takers, marketers, regulators and other stakeholders.
The development represents a reversal of the sharp price escalation recorded earlier in the year, when supply constraints, logistics challenges and broader market pressures pushed the cost of cooking gas beyond the reach of many households and small businesses.
According to Baiyewu, the national average price of LPG stood at about N1,360 per kilogramme in February before rising above N2,000 per kilogramme in June, with prices reaching as high as N2,300 in some locations.
At the peak, consumers, he recalled, faced significant increases in the cost of refilling cylinders, with a 6kg cylinder costing about N13,800 and a 12.5kg cylinder selling for as much as N28,750 in some markets.
Baiyewu said the subsequent decline followed sustained engagements aimed at resolving bottlenecks limiting the flow of LPG into the domestic market.
He, however, warned that the recent improvement should not be mistaken for a permanent solution to the structural challenges that periodically trigger supply shortages and price spikes.
He stressed that effective implementation of the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) remained critical to establishing a more predictable domestic gas market and preventing recurring supply disruptions.
Baiyewu also pointed to the exposure of domestic LPG prices to international benchmarks as an important factor affecting retail prices, noting that movements in foreign exchange, global energy prices and logistics costs could continue to influence what consumers pay.
He said increased investment by industry players in storage facilities, transportation infrastructure, cylinder manufacturing and distribution would be necessary to deepen the resilience of the domestic market.
Beyond cooking gas, the association said it is also positioning gas as a major component of Nigeria’s transportation transition, with its new leadership under Mr Ladi Falola, targeting domestic LPG consumption of 5 million metric tonnes by 2030.
Baiyewu said the association would also intensify advocacy for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a preferred fuel for mobility, in line with the federal government’s gas-for-mobility initiative.
He argued that expanding the use of gas-powered mass transit buses and haulage vehicles could help reduce transportation costs, particularly given the dominant role of road transport in the movement of people and goods across the country.
He therefore called for sustained cooperation among government agencies, regulators, producers, terminal operators, marketers, off-takers and other participants in the gas value chain, stressing that achieving greater gas penetration would require coordinated action rather than isolated interventions.
Emmanuel Addeh
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