NLNG CEO sees price of Nigeria cooking gas falling 20% in weeks
Tony Attah, the chief executive officer of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has given signs yet of a likely drop in the price of domestic cooking gas in the country, according to multiple sources following him on a facility tour of liquefied petroleum plants in Lagos.
The fall in price is expected in the next few weeks, as Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest natural gas producers, grapples with finding an efficient system for the supply, availability and consumption of the commodity.
But the development in the pricing regime will follow from an expected 20 percent fall in ex-depot price, a major cost factor determining how much households access cooking gas for their cooking.
High transport cost from the area of production to the jetties that is the result of major deficiencies in infrastructure has been cited as being responsible for astronomically high prices.
Efforts are being made to tackle the infrastructure deficiency, Attah is reported as saying, adding that N150 million intervention fund is being provided to rehabilitate three jetties located in Apapa, Lagos, including Petroleum Wharf Apapa (PWA), New Oil Jetty (NOJ) and Bulk Oil Platform (BOP).
NLNG was focusing on supplying more LPG in a bid to increase its usage in the country, he said while regretting that more than 100,000 women die yearly from the inhalation of smoke from dirty fuels.
‘‘At NLNG, we stay committed to the development of Nigeria. So as part of our vision of helping to build a better Nigeria, we focus on energy, by helping to bring efficient energy into the country.
“In 2007, when there was a shortage of LPG in the market, NLNG intervened and we are glad to say that as a result of NLNG’s intervention, volume consumed has scaled up to over 250,000 tonnes and we are looking to scale the volume up more as the company has set aside 350,000 tonnes for the market,’’ he said.