Indigenous firm, Techno Oil Limited at the weekend said it has commenced the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders into the Nigerian market.
LPG is also known as cooking gas and the penetration rate (it’s usage) is estimated at about nine percent nationwide, despite Nigeria’s domestic LPG production of three million metric tonnes (MT) per annum with dominant fuel options remaining biomass fuels (firewood) or traditional fuels (kerosene and diesel).
According to the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the company, Mr. Nkechi Obi the first batch of the locally manufactured cylinders were taken up by the Nigerian Army under a scheme designed to cut down green house emissions in army barracks across the country.
Obi told journalists that the Techno Oil plant targets the production of five million units of cooking gas cylinders annually with the creation of 1million jobs for Nigerians even as the lauded the Federal Governments pledge to prioritise the development of the LPG sector.
She said the commencement of supplies to the market would go a long way in boosting the utilisation of cooking gas by more Nigerians as well as eliminate the use of fake, expired and substandard cylinders in the country. Obi said the cylinders manufactured by the company were in line with international standards and quality.
She also commended the Federal Government for granting the requisite waivers that allowed the importation of the materials used in the manufacture of the cylinders.
She said the plant had the capacity to meet the LPG cylinder requirement of Nigeria and for export.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had earlier inaugurated the Techno Oil Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder manufacturing plant in Lagos with a pledged to create the right environment for private sector investments in LPG to thrive and assist in the economic diversification programmes of the government.
“The Federal Government will continue to actively support every effort to promote the use of LPG in Nigeria, as well as create and maintain an effective and catalytic regulatory environment,” Osinbajo said in an addresses at the Lekki, Lagos site of the plant.
Osinbajo at the event lamented that despite Nigeria’s domestic LPG production capacity estimated at above 3 million metric tonnes (MT) per annum, the country’s domestic use of LPG as house hold fuel stood at an abysmal 9 per cent.
The Nigerian Vice President said instead of tapping into the abundant gas potential, Nigerians have relied for too long on environmentally unfriendly fuel options like firewood, kerosene and diesel for cooking purposes.
He said the World Health Organization recently notified the Federal Government, that the smoke from burning wood fuels is a major cause of women and children mortality in Nigeria.