*Targets five million MT target by 2022
*As NLNG increases local gas allocation by 100, 000 MT in 2021
OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — Consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas popularly known as cooking gas in Nigeria has soared to exceed one million metric tonnes.
Statistics released by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA on Tuesday said the increase in consumption of the product was achieved in the past year.
According to the Agency, the feat made 2020 the first year in the nation’s history where LPG consumption had reached such a milestone.
“This steady and sustained pattern of growth culminating in the over one million metric tonnes of LPG domestic consumption milestone in 2020 has placed the country first in West Africa and one of the leading LPG consuming nations on the continent,” the Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, said.
Nigeria consumed 840,594.37MT of LPG in 2019, indicating an increase of 60.5 percent as against 635,452.061MT recorded in 2018.
Mr Saidu revealed that the country is on track to meet the five million MT target by 2022, with an average of one million MT/year as set in the Nigeria Gas Policy of 2017.
He added noted that the attainment of the one million MT domestic utilisation milestone is a testimony to the federal government’s progress on making gas a perfect alternative to petrol, diesel and kerosene.
According to him, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG had increased its allocation of LPG to the domestic market from 350,000MT to 450,000MT in 2021 in order to support the goal.
“Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation recently commenced LPG production and load-out in its newly inaugurated Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited Oredo Gas handling facility, which has an estimated production stream of 330MT daily,” the PPPRA added.