Business
Gas Marketers Urge FG To Dredge Excravos Channel
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), has appealed to the Federal Government to dredge the Escravos Channel in order to ease supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to South South zone.
Its President, Mr Nosa Ogieva-Okunbor, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, yesterday.
Ogieva-Okunbor said the expansion of the Escravos Channel which leads to Koko, Sapele and Warri Ports would also ease congestion in the Lagos Port and improve LPG availability for consumers.
He said: “The government should look into expanding the channel in Escravos so that bigger vessels can bring in products to Warri and the South South areas.
“The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) recently started bringing products to Port Harcourt which is a laudable achievement but this can be improved on by opening up the Escravos Channel.
“Statistics have shown that there is an upward movement in the consumption of LPG. So supply to Port Harcourt alone is not enough.
“The depots should be continuously wet and there should be product availability all the time. Dozzy Gas, Matrix and others in the South South should have products all the time.
“By the time the depots in the south south are wet, there will be no need for people from those areas coming to Lagos to buy products. By so doing, you are reducing the traffic on Lagos Port.”
Ogieva-Okunbor also appealed to the NLNG to consider increasing its 350,0O0 MTPA set aside for local consumption of LPG in order to increase availability.
According to him, LPG consumption is about 624,000MT as at July 2019 with the country expecting to hit the one million metric tonnes mark by the end of the year.
He said: “The allocation from NLNG is low compared to the demand. I want to appeal to the NLNG to look into increasing the volume being given to local consumption.
“I know that by 2020, we might be hitting over one million metric tonnes and it is one of our drive that before five years time, at least 25 per cent of Nigerians should be using LPG.
“This should be not only for cooking but in driving their vehicles and electricity as well manufacturing purposes.”
The NALPGAM president also decried the upsurge in the price of cooking gas in spite of the efforts of the NLNG.
“The NLNG has been delivering back to back but because of that shortage when products were not brought in and because of the congestion problem in Apapa Port, the price still remains high,” he said.
“They are selling for N4.35 million for 20MT and this was a product that was being sold for N3.2 million only four weeks ago.
“So our projection is that this will remain like this for sometime and the only solution is for the NLNG to saturate our terminals with products. When there is product at all times, this panic buying will not be there and marketers will be able to plan properly,” he added.
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The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.