Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has attributed the high price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the rising price of crude oil and its derivatives at the world market.
He, however, assured Nigerians that the NNPC Limited was working round the clock to boost the supply of LPG to ensure a crash of the price.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents of Abuja and environs now spend between N8,500 and N9,500 to for a 12kg gas cylinders as against the former price of between N4,000 and N6,000.
“Two things are at play; one is the supply and the other is the international price of gas. It (price) moves with the price of every other petroleum product including crude oil and its derivatives. So it is a reflection of what is happening in the international market.
“What we are doing is to increase supply. Once supply is increased the prices will come down.”
The NNPC GMD said that the newly-inaugurated LPG plant was going to “reduce the cost of energy for Nigerians for the fact that LPG is cheaper than any other product you can think of, especially as cooking fuel.”
He commended Emadeb Energy Services Limited for building the LPG plant in Abuja, explaining that the project aligned with one of the steps the Federal Government had taken to provide gas for its citizenry.
He lauded the plan by the company to build similar plants in six different locations across the country within the next 12 to 18 months, adding that this was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s decade of gas initiative.
Kyari said: “We are aware that a lot of institutions and companies are doing this across the country. We are selecting this in line with Mr President’s objectives to make this the decade of gas.”
