Export of Cooking Gas May Come to An End to Cut Price

The Federal Government hinted yesterday that a ban may be slammed on the exportation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas. This is part of measures to reduce cooking gas prices and support domestic users. Minister of State (Gas Resources), Ekperikpe Ekpo, yesterday said the government has initiated a bouquet of measures to improve domestic gas supply and remove the disequilibrium that has fueled rising cooking gas prices in recent periods. Recent data showed that natural gas demand in Nigeria rose to 12.12 billion standard cubic meters in 2022, as against about 10.11 billion standard cubic meters in 2021. From about N7,000 for a 12.5 kilogram (kg) in November 2023, cooking gas price has risen by about 57 percent in nearly four months to about N18,000 now. Ekpo, who spoke at the “Internal Stakeholders’ Workshop,” in Abuja, said halting export of cooking gas was necessary to boost domestic supply and reduce prices.