…“Gas, as the cleanest of the fossil fuels, has become an essential energy source to be reckoned with during this energy transition period – Philip Mshelbila

Olushola Okunlade Writes

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG Limited (NLNG) says it will supply 100 per cent of its liquefied petroleum gas to the Nigerian market to crash the prices of cooking gas.

The NLNG on Thursday in a statement signed by Andy Odeh, the general manager, external relations, and sustainable development, said it will prioritise the domestic market for 100 per cent of its butane and propane production.

It said the move is designed to increase LPG availability in Nigeria, diversify its use and support the federal government’s Decade of the Gas initiative.

According to the statement, NLNG is currently the highest single supplier of LPG to the domestic market, with an estimated 400,000 metric tonnes supplied in 2021.

“The milestone is coming just three months after the company supplied its first propane cargo into the domestic market and has developed a scheme to sustainably supply propane for usage in cooking gas blending as well as in agro-allied, autogas, power, and petrochemical sectors of the Nigerian economy to further deepen gas utilization in Nigeria,” the statement said.

The cost of cooking gas has been on the rise since the beginning of last year.

BusinessEcho Magazine reported how the hike in the prices of cooking gas has forced many women into harmful alternatives such as using firewood and charcoal for cooking.

In December, Mele Kyari, the NNPC Group Managing Director, at the inauguration of a 120-metric tonnes LPG storage and bottling plant by Emadeb Energy Services Limited, said the corporation is currently working towards increasing the supply of LPG, in a bid to force down its rising price in the country.

“Two things are in play, one is the supply and the other is the international price of gas,” he said at the time.

“It (price) moves with the price of every other petroleum product including crude oil and its derivatives. So it is a reflection of what is happening in the international market.

“What we are doing is to increase supply. Once the supply is increased the prices will come down.”

Speaking on the development, Philip Mshelbila, the managing director and chief executive officer of NLNG said the announcement marked the company’s strong commitment to the continued growth of the domestic LPG market and its passion to increase utilization of one of the most versatile energy sources in the world.

“Gas, as the cleanest of the fossil fuels, has become an essential energy source to be reckoned with during this energy transition period. Other countries are revolutionizing their energy industry to cut down on carbon emissions drastically. Nigeria should not be left out in this drive, considering its abundant gas resources,” Mr. Mshelbila said in the statement.

He said gas is essential for life and living at the moment because it can support everything we will need to develop our economy and create better living standards for Nigerians. We need to change the narrative, and NLNG is being pragmatic about it.

“We are ardently following up on the commitment we made in March 2021 at the NLNG-sponsored pre-summit conference of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) 2021 organized by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to support the Decade of a Gas declaration by the Federal Government. We are driven by our vision to remain a globally competitive LNG company helping to build a better Nigeria and are making a reality of our collective dreams that one day we can switch all cooking fuels to gas, and power our vehicles with gas as encapsulated in the government’s National Gas Expansion Program and the Autogas Policy,” he said.

Committing to this, he said 100 per cent of our LPG supply is a major milestone in our journey of domestic gas supply.

“We supplied our first Butane (LPG) cargo into the domestic market in 2007, which helped to develop over the years the LPG industry in Nigeria from less than 50,000 tonnes to over 1 Million tonnes market size annually by the end of 2020.

“In 2021, we increased our LPG supply commitment from 350,000 metric tonnes (or 28 million 12.5kg cylinders) to actual delivery of 400,000 metric tonnes (or 32 million 12.5kg cylinders) thereby directing most of our products into the domestic market. But this was not enough for NLNG, hence this commitment to do all that we possibly can and supply 100% of our LPG production to the domestic market,” he added.

NLNG is jointly owned by four federal government, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shell Gas B.V, TotalEnergies Gas & Electricite Holdings, and Eni International.