By Israel Umoh
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, says Federal Government has come out with a new roadmap to force down the soaring prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) in the country.
Ekperikpe, who was sworn into office on August 21, 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, is among the Ministers who have retained his office amid the President’s cabinet rejig on Wednesday.
The Minister had, in a bid to tackle the soaring price of cooking gas, established a high-level committee in November 2023, led by the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, and comprising key stakeholders in the LPG value chain.
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Speaking in a telephone interview with Straightnews publisher on Thursday, October 24, Ekperikpe announced plans by the Federal Government to force down the price of cooking gas in the country.
He said ‘‘I summoned Chevron, ExxonMobil, NNPCL and one other company. I directed them from November 1, there should be no export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the country. Every LPG should be processed in this country until we are able to meet the demands of Nigerians. That is when we can export it to other countries.’’
According to him, ‘‘I involve Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to go into pricing of LPG, not them indexing the price of LPG in our country with reference to America and Far East Asia. Rather, it should be in consonance with the processing in our country. It is our domestic product and it should not go as high as we are seeing.
‘‘I charge them to ensure they form a consortium whichever way they want to do it, since the blending of Chevron product and that of ExxonMobil is not the blending that is acceptable in our country. Theirs is 60:40 whereas what we want in this country is 80:20. They have to bring in their blending plants into our country to bring it to the level we are talking about- that is propane and ethane.’’
FG bans export of LPG
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has banned the export of LPG produced in country as prices continue to spike.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, in a statement by his media aide, expressed deep concern over the continuing increase in the price of LPG.
The statement explained that Ekpo convened a meeting with stakeholders to address the skyrocketing price and its attendant hardship on Nigerians.
“To combat this, the Gas Minister has issued the following directives: Short Term Solution: With effect from November 1, 2024, NNPCL and LPG producers are to stop exporting LPG produced in-country, or import equivalent volumes of LPG exported at cost reflective prices.
“Pricing Framework: NMDPRA will engage stakeholders to create a domestic LPG pricing framework within 90 days, indexing price to cost of in-country production, rather than the current practice of indexing against external markets, such as the America and Far East Asia, whereas the commodity is produced in-country and the Nigerian people are required to pay much higher price for an essential commodity the country is naturally endowed with.
“Long-Term Solution: Within 12 months, facilities will be developed to blend, store, and deliver LPG, ending exports until the market achieves sufficiency and price stability.
“Ekpo’s directives are a step towards addressing the inherent challenges and ensuring Nigerians have access to affordable cooking gas.
“The new measures aim to improve availability and ensure affordability to protect Nigerians from the economic hardship caused by LPG price hike”, the Minister added.
