Cooking Gas Price Hits N25,000 as Supply Disruption Deepens

Nigerians are currently groaning under another wave of price hikes as the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, has surged to ₦25,000 up from ₦17,500 just last week.

Findings across Lagos and other  states showed that 1kg of cooking gas now sells for between ₦1,500 and ₦2,000, depending on the location.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Mr. Bassey Essien, attributed the sharp increase to the recent strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which disrupted supply and distribution.

His words: “Dangote Petroleum Refinery is currently the highest local supplier of cooking gas in Nigeria. The crisis involving PENGASSAN scuttled distribution. Many dealers could not replenish their stocks during the period.

“What we are witnessing is a function of demand and supply. But supply would likely stabilise in the coming days, following resolution of the conflict.”

Many gas plants in Lagos and surrounding states were shut on Monday due to the scarcity, forcing residents to move from one outlet to another in search of the product.

President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had recently disclosed that the refinery currently produces about 2,000 tonnes of LPG daily, with plans to ramp up production to meet growing national demand.

He said: “If the distributors are not trying to bring it down, we’ll go directly and sell to consumers so that people will now transit from firewood or kerosene to LPG for cooking.”

Before now, much of Nigeria’s domestic LPG demand was met by the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Limited. The company, in a statement, reaffirmed its commitment to improving local supply under its domestic LPG scheme introduced in 2022.

“To get cooking gas to Nigerian homes efficiently, NLNG supplies butane to selected partners (our off-takers) through approved coastal LPG terminals in Lagos and Rivers states, with more facilities under review,” the company said.

It added that it had also deployed a dedicated vessel to ensure regular and reliable delivery to terminals nationwide, with the goal of making LPG “more available, accessible, affordable, and acceptable across the country.”