Surveys have shown that there has been a drop in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in recent times, and there are indications that this could lead to an increase in demand for the product.
A few dealers attest this sudden drop to the increased supply of the product. The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Liquefied, Mr. BasseyEssien who confirmed the situation, attributed this to the substantial supply from the (NLNG) and the foreign markets. He further ruled out the possibility of shortage during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
He said, “Marketers do not welcome excessive fall in price as it could lead to losses for those who invested in the business much earlier at relatively high price regime. Instead of low price, it will be in the best interest of all stakeholders, including operators and users for the market to be stable.”
He further added that the average should be able to afford cooking gas, but the Value Added Tax (VAT) on a locally sourced product makes it relatively expensive.
Meanwhile, NLNG which disclosed that it started supply of LPG to the Nigerian domestic market in 2007 has a commitment to deliver quality to its ever increasing consumers. It stated, “at the moment, NLNG has signed Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with 15 off-takers (all Nigerian companies), in which the company is committed to deliver up to 250,000 tons of LPG into the Nigerian market annually, in line with the commitment to grow the domestic LPG market. “The LPG Domestic Supply Scheme, which has been an outstanding success, has led to a significant reduction in the end-user price of LPG in the domestic market.”
With regard to expansion,the company stated that it has concluded plans to increase domestic supply of LPG with a new vessel targeted at consolidating the company’s position in Nigeria. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah had remarked at the contract signing ceremony in Lagos that, “NLNG remains the single largest supplier of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (over 50 percent) in Nigeria and drives further to enable its expansion in future.
NLNG’s domestic LPG intervention scheme aligns with its business focus of bringing energy to the world and helping to build a better Nigeria.
