‘Investments in cooking gas will check deforestation’

Nipco Plc has restated its commitment to addressing deforestation in some parts of Nigeria, leveraging its investments in cooking gas.

Managing Director of the company, Sanjay Teotia, said this at the 8th annual international conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) in Abuja. He maintained that NIPCO’s huge investments in the cooking gas sub-sector would aid its mission.

He said the move has not only created a lot of awareness on the benefits of gas as domestic cooking fuel, but has also served as drawback to deforestation in the country.

Throwing his company’s weight behind the Federal Government agenda to grow the LPG sub-sector, the Teotia promised continuous and deliberate efforts in supporting government’s genuine desire to make LPG domestic cooking fuel of choice among the populace.

He said: “We diversified in the gas realm in 2009 with the inauguration of a state-of-the-art LPG plant in Lagos with a total storage capacity of 4,800 metric tonnes spread across three spheres and a three point loading gantry.

“As at the time of its inauguration, it was the biggest LPG storage in the country, thus creating veritable avenue to store gas and distribute effectively with the scores of LPG trucks commissioned by the company.”

In 2017, NIPCO, Teotia said, improved on the storage capacity and other LPG infrastructure in a bid to meeting growing LPG stakeholders’ interest.

He added: “We commissioned the biggest LPG single sphere in Africa with a capacity of 5,600MT and increased the loading arms in the gantry to five in a bid to ease loading of trucks for onward distribution of the product to all the nooks and crannies of the country.”

“Today, NIPCO controls a major share of the LPG market with its massive storage facilities and other infrastructures put in place to aid access to the product by the populace.

“The peerless service being provided by the company has made it depot of choice by many bottling plants and others in the business of LPG.
“The improved storage facility and product reception at the terminal has been a major boost in the effective turnaround of LPG vessels berthing at the Apapa jetty.”