By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has cautioned Nigerians against panic buying of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas.
The warning is coming on the heels of Monday’s Force Majeure declared by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) over the recent flooding incidence that impacted its operation.
NALPGAM President, Mr Oladapo Olatunbosun, made the appeal in a statement to Daily Sun yesterday. He said that cooking gas consumers need not panic over the possibility of scarcity of the product as a result of the force majeure
The President reiterated that “Based on information reaching the Association; NLNG has not shut down its production facility in Bonny as rumoured. He confirmed that NLNG on Thursday, October 20, 2022 had shipped a cargo of LPG for the domestic market. He said that the dedicated vessel for shipment of LPG from the NLNG Plant in Bonny, “Alfred Temile”, arrived in Lagos on Thursday to discharge product.
“The public should know that the supply of LPG from NLNG has not stopped. “We should not give opportunity for further price hike due to speculated shortage of the product. We are already in hard times with the Russian/Ukraine war causing upset in the markets and the scarcity,” he advised.
The President said that NLNG has assured the Association that it will keep producing LPG based on the feed-gas it receives from its gas suppliers, adding that production was expected to pick up after the flood recedes.
He, however, cautioned middlemen in the value chain not to take advantage of the hysteria in the market as a result of the flood which has also hampered the distribution of the production across the nation.
He called for urgent intervention by critical stakeholders to grow the industry and for more investment to meet demand and crash the price.
Meanwhile General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Mr Andy Odeh, had in a statement urged Nigerians to avoid rushing to fill their gas cylinders as there is enough supplies of LPG to satisfy the Nigerian market.