Demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) popularly known as cooking has dropped to a record low across the country, The PUNCH findings have shown. Market report gathered on Tuesday showed that consumers had lately either reduced consumption or ditched the commodity for cheaper alternatives such as coal and firewood.
President, Nigerian Gas Association, Ed Ubong, said during a downstream event in Lagos that national annual consumption was currently between 1.3mn and 1.5mn metric tons from the Federal Government’s annual target of 5mn metric tons.
This brings to fore, the achievement of President Buhari’s National Gas Expansion Programme which seeks to deepen local gas usage within the next decade. Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, NALPGAM, Bassey Essien, confirmed to The PUNCH during a phone interview that the drop in consumption rate was due to increasing prices.
According to him, price of 20 metric tons of cooking gas as of Tuesday shot up from N12mn to N12.8mn. “Prices have been volatile for a while, and it’s because the purchasing power has dropped. Gas is no longer affordable, and buyers are either regulating use or found alternatives.
