The National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), Oladapo Olatunbosun, has assured Nigerians that the current scarcity of cooking gas will fizzle out by the weekend.
Olatunbosun gave the assurance on Wednesday while speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He explained that the current scarcity is due to some factors, including the strike embarked upon following the industrial dispute between members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery, a recent renovation/maintenance work by the Dangote Refinery, and the activities of middlemen.
“About a year and a few months ago, one kilogram of gas was between ₦1,200-₦1,300, but it recently came down due to the production by Dangote. Dangote eliminated middlemen, and that made gas to land at a reasonable price.
“But what actually caused the temporary artificial prices and scarcity is that; before the strike, when you load from Dangote, he sends out about 50 trucks per day, which is good because it served the South West and some part of the North well, and if you add it to what you get from Apapa, and other depots in Lagos, because they also source their products from IOCs.
“So Dangote came in with his own strategy, selling directly to offtakers. That made importation unattractive. You won’t be able to compete if you import because you will incur losses.
“But at a time, Dangote also commenced renovation/maintenance, which affected loading. Trucks started spending like 14 days at Dangote yard before they could get products.
“So, marketers switched to Apapa, and nobody felt the impact.
“When Dangote finished renovation, and we were about to commence full loading, the strike came in. Although Dangote didn’t stop production, everybody had rushed to Apapa, and it was now out of product, and all the depots there were dry. The only vessel that came in from NOJ axes was meant to supply the depot could not berth because of the strike. And even when it berthed, the officers to inspect it weren’t on the ground because of the strike, and that caused about 5 days’ loss, and the real impact of the backlog became obvious.
“Now that the strike is off, the product has been discharged, and they are trucking out. But because everywhere is dry and the South West is the only place that consumes the largest amount of LPG in Nigeria,” he said.
The NALPGAM president, however, assured that the scarcity would soon clear off as the trucks have resumed operation and products are being loaded for movement across the country.
According to him, the price per kilogram should not exceed ₦1,300/kg.
“The fact is that our national gas consumption has increased, unlike what we had two or three years ago, when we were stuck on 1.3 metric tons per annum; now we have gone up to the peak of 1.9 million, approaching 2 million metric tons. We have a surge in demand.
“The average price, depending on where you are buying…most of the people who brand ₦2,000 per kg, they didn’t tell you the source. If you buy products from a third party, the chain has been extended, and prices will go up, which is illegal, because it is like buying PMS from the black market. But if you go to gas plants, the price is maximum ₦1,300 per kg.”
“We are trying to get the products down to people, and NLNG is also trucking. By the weekend, the scarcity will fizzle out,” he assured.
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