NCDMB calls for improved LPG penetration in Nigeria

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote has called for domestic gas utilisation in Nigeria, insisting that the country still has one of the lowest per capita LPG consumption in Africa.

Although Nigeria consumed about one million metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in 2020, Wabote noted that a lot of opportunities still exist for increasing LPG penetration in Nigeria.

Wabote made the assertion at the commissioning ceremony of a 30-metric tonnes refilling plant of Selai Gas Station Limited in Lagos.

Wabote, who was represented by Manager, Projects and Operations, NCDMB, Adewale Adenugba, quoted data released from Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA), stating that this is the first time domestic LPG consumption would reach the one million MT mark. Even though 2020 was the year of COVID-19 pandemic, it was also ‘the Year of Gas’ and it is significant that the LPG consumption level broke the previous records.

According to him, it shows that the various initiatives embarked upon by the government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its agencies are already yielding fruits.

He said the commissioning marks the achievement of yet another milestone of the private sector taking the bull by the horn in bringing government policies into reality.

He commended Selai Gas Station limited as a front-runner in taking practical steps in the “Decade of Gas” journey.

“Beyond the volumes, the economic, social and environmental benefits of switching from solid and liquid forms of fuel to gaseous form are enormous, which I have noticed is part of your company’s mantra,” he said.

He said the deaths and illnesses caused by smoke and wood fumes are nothing to be proud of for a country sitting on 203tcf of proven gas reserves; this gas station will bring the products closer to end-users.

“l understand that this is a female lead organisation, congratulations on breaking the bias to further support women entrepreneurs in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry. You can now benefit from the US$40m Women in Oil and Gas Intervention Fund deployed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nexim Nigerian Export-Import Bank,” he said.

In her remarks, Chief Executive Officer, SELAi Gas Station Limited, Damilola Owolabi, said: “Coming in here was very deliberate; we wanted to impact this neighborhood. Prior to this time, there has been a lot of shutdowns from the Lagos state government because of the plants that litter around without government approval.

“So it was very difficult for the few people here to get gas, they had to rely on the roadside sellers. Coming into this place was because we saw an opportunity and we had to carve a niche for ourselves and most importantly to create an impact within this neighborhood.”

Owolabi said: “The plans we have is that we have a cylinder programme where we are going to be empowering women more like partnering with them to give them cylinder at a very subsidized rate, then the payment is done over a long period of time, just so that we encourage the energy transition message that we are preaching to them.

“Also we are involving the men, whereby we would be uberising our delivery. Any man within this community that has a tricycle, when you register with us, we will ensure that you are trained on how to take delivery of gas to our clients giving you the platform to also make money.”