Economy
Nigerians May Pay More For Cooking Gas as Forex Scarcity Persist
Nigerians may soon be paying more for cooking gas due to persistent fuel scarcity
Due to the drop in NLNG production output and foreign exchange scarcity, Nigerians may soon be paying more for cooking gas.
Investors King learnt that marketers might soon increase the price of cooking gas as they lament a significant drop in production capacity and forex scarcity which has led to a high exchange rate of dollar to Naira.
The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, noted that independent marketers sourced foreign exchange from the black market which may cause the price of gas to increase.
Mike Osatuyi further stated that some independent marketers have stopped selling gas while those who still sell gas could be forced to sell at a higher price.
“Our members, who still sell gas, bought 20, 000 metric tonnes at around N11 million last month, but now, the price has jumped to N12.3 million per 20, 000 metric tones,” he said.
Investors King understands that the production capacity of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has dropped by 40 percent. The drop is a result of overwhelming theft and the vandalism of oil and gas pipelines.
NLNG, which is a major gas supplier even to some countries in Europe such as Portugal now operates with a reduced capacity of 60 percent.
It will be recalled that Portugal, which is one of Nigeria’s major importers, has expressed concerns over gas supplies.
Portugal Energy Minister, Duarte Cordeiro stated that his country could face supply problems this winter if Nigeria did not deliver all its supplies.
Our correspondent learnt that output and export from NLNG’s six-train Bonny plant had dropped to 16.8 million tonnes in 2021, from 20.7 million tonnes capacity in 2020.
Subsequently, due to challenges in gas supply, NLNG was reported to have lost $7 billion in revenue so far in 2022. Experts fear that Nigeria may face a tougher time if the issue of reduced production capacity is not addressed as it can drive NLNG’s traditional customers to other suppliers.