Precious Anga
Lagos — Nigeria’s cooking gas prices could fall sharply to between ₦900 and ₦1,100 per kilogram by the end of 2026 if the Federal Government successfully implements key reforms aimed at expanding domestic supply, improving infrastructure and lowering distribution costs, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, NALPGAM, has said.
The projection comes amid mounting pressure on household budgets as cooking gas prices have more than doubled in parts of the country over the past year, forcing many families to cut consumption or revert to less environmentally friendly alternatives such as charcoal and firewood.
Speaking in Lagos, NALPGAM President, Edu Inyang, said Nigeria has made significant progress in boosting local LPG production, but persistent supply chain bottlenecks continue to prevent consumers from benefiting from the gains.
According to him, retail prices, which hovered between ₦900 and ₦1,000 per kilogram in April, now range between ₦2,000 and ₦2,500 per kilogram in several parts of Lagos.
He attributed the surge to supply disruptions, infrastructure deficits, foreign exchange challenges and rising logistics costs.
Inyang disclosed that Dangote Refinery and Nigeria LNG (NLNG) supplied about 87 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic LPG market in 2025. However, Dangote Refinery later clarified that a significant portion of its LPG output was earmarked for higher-value industrial products rather than the domestic cooking gas market, creating an unexpected supply gap.
He noted that despite increased local production, many producers still operate below installed capacity, leaving rising consumer demand unmet.
The NALPGAM president also identified inadequate storage infrastructure, particularly outside Lagos, the Edo/Delta corridor and Port Harcourt, as a major contributor to high prices nationwide.
“Consumers will not fully benefit from increased local production unless bottlenecks in logistics, depot capacity, trucking and market access are resolved,” he said.
He further blamed speculative trading, excessive intermediary margins and temporary product hoarding for worsening price volatility and creating artificial scarcity in some markets.
To stabilise prices, NALPGAM urged regulators to strengthen market surveillance, improve transparency in product allocation and enforce fair competition across the LPG value chain.
The association also called for short-term measures, including prioritising domestic LPG supply over exports, easing access to foreign exchange, reducing regulatory bottlenecks and expanding clean cooking support programmes for low-income households.
Long-term recommendations include investments in storage facilities, gas processing plants, LPG terminals, transportation networks, strategic reserves and cylinder distribution infrastructure.
NALPGAM is also advocating the introduction of a domestic LPG supply obligation framework, tax incentives for investors and the elimination of overlapping regulatory charges.
Inyang, however, cautioned that the ₦900-₦1,100 per kilogram price target remains an indicative projection rather than a guarantee, as global energy prices and exchange rate movements will continue to influence market dynamics.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has assured Nigerians that domestic LPG supply remains stable despite recent price spikes.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, attributed the increase to foreign exchange volatility, rising logistics costs, infrastructure limitations and international LPG market movements.
He reiterated the government’s directive that all LPG produced in Nigeria should first be allocated to the domestic market before exports, describing the policy as essential to improving local availability and reducing import dependence.
Ekpo also directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to deepen collaboration with industry operators to strengthen supply coordination and prevent market disruptions.
The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) underscore the pressure on consumers. The average cost of refilling a 5kg cylinder rose from ₦7,655.73 in March to ₦8,706.93 in April, while the average price for a 12.5kg cylinder increased from ₦19,652.83 to ₦22,382.20 over the same period.
Analysts say Nigeria’s long-term outlook remains positive, but achieving affordable cooking gas prices will depend on sustained investments in infrastructure, policy consistency and the successful execution of the government’s broader gas commercialisation agenda.
