The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has given details of its plans to effect a reduction in the prices of cooking gas amid concerns by Nigerians over its inflation.
This was revealed by Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC. Kyari attributed the high price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the increasing price of crude oil and its derivatives at the world market.
He made this statement during the inauguration of Emadeb Energy Services Limited’s 120MT LPG Storage and Bottling Plant in Abuja.
He assured Nigerians that the NNPC was working round the clock to boost the supply of LPG to ensure a reduction of the price.
Kyari said: “Two things are at play; one is the supply and the other is the international price of gas. It (price) moves with the price of every other petroleum product including crude oil and its derivatives. So it is a reflection of what is happening in the international market.
“What we are doing is to increase supply. Once the supply is increased the prices will come down.”
He said that the newly-commissioned LPG plant would “reduce the cost of energy for Nigerians for the fact that LPG is cheaper than any other product you can think of, especially as cooking fuel.”
He however commended Emadeb Energy Services Limited for constructing the LPG plant in Abuja and explained that the project is in line with one of the steps the Federal Government had taken to provide gas for Nigerians.
Kyari said: “We are aware that a lot of institutions and companies are doing this across the country. We are selecting this in line with Mr President’s objectives to make this the decade of gas.”
Also, he noted that the global energy transition had made the investment climate very ripe for gas.
He said: “We know that the investment climate is very ripe for auto-gas and auto fuel, especially in terms of LPG as a transition fuel globally. So, we know that this is a big market for Nigerian companies and this is one of the great companies that we have around.
“As NNPC, we will come in and we will guarantee supply. That is very important for us as a business. As you are aware, we are NNPC Limited in Nigeria and we also have to make money for Nigeria. We will be there in the upstream to provide the gas.”
