The average retail cost for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) saw a month-on-month rise of 14.04 per cent, rising from N9,247.40 in September 2023 to N10,545.87 in October 2023.
This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics, latest LPG (cooking gas) price watch for October 2023.
When compared with the corresponding period of last year, the cost of cooking gas increased by 4.93 per cent from N10,050.53 in October 2022.
Furthermore, the average retail price for 5kg gas in Nigeria increased by 8.89 per cent from N4,189.96 recorded in September to N4,562.51 in October.
When compared across states, Edo emerged with the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) at N12,536.88, trailed by Jigawa at N12,050.00 and Delta at N11,987.50.
On the other hand, Zamfara saw the lowest price of cooking gas at N9,050.00, followed by Lagos and Oyo at N9,071.05 and N9,407.14, respectively.
When compared across geopolitical zones, the South-South region recorded the highest average retail price for the same gas cylinder size at N11,480.60, followed by the North-Central at N10,683.97, while the South-East recorded the lowest average price at N9,847.42.
Cooking gas prices are increasing for two reasons-low investment in natural gas exploration across the country and low production of associated gas because of rampant crude oil theft rampant in the Niger Delta.
Although Nigeria boasts of over 200 trillion cbf of natural gas reserves which puts her among the top ten countries with the largest gas reserves in the world, low investment has resulted in her being an importer of LPG.
Dan D. Kunle, an expert in natural gas, elucidated that the escalation in cooking gas prices is a predictable outcome owing to the notable surge in demand for this essential commodity.
It is important to recall that in May 2023, President Tinubu made a significant announcement regarding the removal of petrol subsidies.
Following this development, key stakeholders like the Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) began advocating for more affordable alternatives to empower Nigerians to fuel their generators and vehicles.
One prominent suggestion was the conversion to Autogas/LPG, presenting a viable and cost-effective option in contrast to petrol, which had witnessed a considerable rise in its price.
This set off a new wave of demand for LPG especially for generators which had been converted to run on both petrol and LPG. “As everyone knows, if there is low production of a highly demanded product, the price will skyrocket,” said Mr. Kunle.
According to him, the increase in the price of LPG (cooking gas) is attributed to two reasons:
According to Mr. Kunle, the country is not able to meet its goals on liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) availability not just because it cannot attract real investments in the sub-sector but because of the government’s inability to follow through on policies.
