The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has intervened to stem the rising price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) popularly called cooking gas in the market.
A statement by the Minister’s spokesperson, Louis Ibah, said the intervention followed a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
Ekpo was quoted as saying: “With the exponential increase in the price of LPG, there is a need for the Federal Government to intervene, and I am that representative at this moment.”
He, therefore, mandated a committee headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, to find a solution within one week, and to recommend the best way to boost supplies and crash LPG prices.
The meeting was attended by top officials of Chevron Nigeria Limited, led by Sansay Narasimha; NMDPRA; and NNPC Ltd.
Among the key challenges identified as responsible for the price increases included shortage of foreign exchange for imports and insufficient supply to the domestic market by producers.
Bend backwards and find solutions to ensure that we have sufficient supply and stability in-country, and that Nigerians have gas.
The Minister expressed the President’s concerns over the astronomical rise in the price of cooking gas in the market and the attendant hardship for Nigerians.
He also blamed the increase on some multinational oil firms, whom he accused of being more concerned with gas exports without dedicating huge volumes to the domestic market.
Mr Ekpo said this was unacceptable and should be discouraged since Nigeria has abundant gas reserves.
He said: “We acknowledge that some producers are exporting while we are faced with the challenges of importation. Public interest is the overriding interest all over the world for the government, and the demand for LPG will increase as we approach December.
“Oil companies have a public service obligation to collaborate with the government to ensure the security of gas supplies.”
He charged the companies to “bend backwards and find solutions to ensure that we have sufficient supply and stability in-country and that Nigerians have gas.”
