FG partners stakeholders to reduce cooking gas prices

Nigeria’s push to attract more than $60 billion in new oil and gas investment by 2030 is shifting towards bankability of projects and the infrastructure required to translate the country’s gas reserves into actual production and economic value.

The focus is expected to dominate discussions at the fourth edition of the Gas Investment Forum (GIF 2026), scheduled for September 29 and 30 at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

The development comes months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) unveiled the Gas Master Plan 2026, which targets national gas production of 10 billion cubic feet per day (BCF/D) by 2027 and 12 BCF/D by 2030, alongside more than $60 billion in new investment across the oil and gas value chain.

While the investment target has already been established under the plan, organisers of the forum said the immediate challenge is converting the ambition into projects that can attract financing, secure infrastructure, and deliver additional gas supply.

The forum comes against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas programme and the Gas Master Plan’s attempt to move the sector from resource availability to increased production, infrastructure development and wider domestic utilisation.

Director of Events, Gas Investment Forum, Osaze Isesele, said the sector’s challenge was no longer the availability of resources or ambition but the ability to execute projects.

“Nigeria has no shortage of gas resources or ambition. The defining question now is how quickly we can convert that resource base into bankable projects, reliable infrastructure, expanded supply and productive economic activity. Gas Investment Forum 2026 is designed around that execution challenge.”

MEANWHILE, the Federal Government, terminal operators, off-takers, regulators and other stakeholders have helped improve the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), with cooking gas prices declining by up to 40 per cent from their June peak in markets nationwide.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Liquefied and Compressed Gases Association (NLCGA), Lanrewaju Baiyewu, disclosed that the price reduction was providing relief to Nigerian households following significant increases caused by supply constraints, rising logistics costs and broader market pressures.

According to him, the national average price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder stood at N1,360 per kilogramme in February but rose to more than N2,000 per kilogramme by June, reaching as high as N2,300 in some locations.

He said the increase meant that refilling a 6kg cylinder rose to approximately N13,800, while a 12.5kg cylinder could cost as much as N28,750, putting considerable pressure on households and small businesses that depend on cooking gas for personal and commercial activities.

The NLCGA chief executive said the situation prompted sustained engagement among government authorities, local producers, terminal operators, off-takers, marketers and regulators to address constraints affecting product supply to the domestic market.

He, however, stressed that sustained implementation of the recently passed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was necessary to prevent future supply gaps and maintain nationwide price stability.