“No More N9k”: Tougher Times Ahead as Marketers Predict Higher Price for 12.5kg Cooking Gas

• Marketers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas have warned that Nigerians may have to pay more for cooking gas in the months ahead
• They attributed the changes to a sudden jump in the cost of 20 metric tons of LPG at terminals due to foreign exchange
• The marketers are asking the Federal Government to intervene to regulate terminal owners' activities

The price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) is set to rise as high as N18,000 by December 2023.

This was disclosed by Olatunbosun Oladapo, the President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGM).

Oladapo noted that there has been a sudden increment from between N9-N10 million per 20 metric tons to N14 million per 20 metric tons, Punch reports.

Therefore, he warned that if the federal government doesn't intervene, the gas price could reach N18 million per metric ton by December. This means a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder could go for as high as N18,000.

His words:

“There is a ridiculous hike in gas prices going on right now, and I am afraid that if the Federal Government does not step in to checkmate the activities of these terminal owners, the price could reach as high as N18m per metric ton by December. This means that a 12.5kg could go as high as N18,000.”

According to him, terminal owners were hiding under the guise of high foreign exchange to increase the price to further increase the masses' suffering.

He added:

“Now, the ordinary man would not be able to buy gas. How many minimum wage earners can afford gas now? Everyone is turning to firewood and charcoal. The surprising thing was that they visited President Tinubu last week and promised to work together with his administration to make life better. Now they have come back and started doing something else. Where are all the palliatives and buses they promised to donate? We have not seen anything.”

Cooking gas prices

If the predictions from Oladapo come to pass, the price of refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas cylinder would have increased by 96.46% compared to the N9,162.11 paid by Nigerians in July 2023.

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder with cooking gas was N4,072.87 in July 2023.

Speaking on the imminent increase in the price of cooking gas, Akin Taiwo, an Energy consultant based in Lagos, told Legit.ng that until Nigeria's gas potential is adequately harnessed, consumers will always fear possible price hikes.

He said:

What is happening with gas is the same thing we are experiencing with crude oil. Nigeria has abundant crude oil, but we still have to import refined products. We have an abundant reserve of gas, but we have to refine and process cooking gas, consisting mainly of butane and some propane.

Therefore, the presence of natural gas or crude oil alone does not ensure a supply of cooking gas for a nation, unless there exists the capability and infrastructure for converting natural gas into butane and propane through the refining process.

Taiwo added that the recent hikes in petrol prices have also contributed to more people focusing on gas as an alternative, hence the increase in demand.

Viral video shows people in Lagos queuing to buy cooking gas, Nigerians react to new prices

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a video supposedly showing people in Lagos state as they queued for cooking gas has gotten many reactions on social media.

Posted by Tunde Ednut on Instagram, he claimed the incident happened in the state earlier in the week.

In the clip, buyers were at a gas filling station with different cylinder sizes to buy the product. Some of them even sat on the containers as they awaited their turns.

Source: Legit.ng