'12.5kg may hit N25k by Dec' - Sahara Energy explains hike in cooking gas price, commits $1bn to LPG

Global energy giant Sahara Group Limited has announced that it will put at least $1 billion into manufacturing cooking gas, often known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The corporation revealed this information at an educational event for energy editors in Abuja. It also clarified that the company was also investing in the manufacture of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Five-year plan to invest at least $1bn in LPG

According to Ejiro Grey, Director of Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group, the oil giant is expanding its fleet to increase the availability of gas in Nigeria and throughout Africa, Punch reported.

It mentioned that it is developing a five-year strategy to invest at least $1 billion in LPG specifically. It was stated that constructing the logistics infrastructure would do this.

“So you are talking about, for instance, vessels. We are greatly increasing our fleet. Currently, we have four LPG vessels; we have two in the making at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea for LNG vessels as well.

All of these are required to increase regional supply in Nigeria, and throughout West Africa, she continued.

She states that the goal is to increase LPG capacity to 75,000 metric tonnes within the following three years.

She stated that the company was already developing a storage facility in Côte D'Ivoire to increase domestic supplies and other landlocked nations. She added that to increase supply, the energy company is also doing that in Nigeria.

Gray said that the company is huge on CNG, adding that it has yet to invest in it because of the unavailability of an infrastructure network for CNG in Nigeria.

“Unless you just want to do trucking and by the time you do, the cost is high because the truck will probably move on diesel and all of that. Unless you can get one that is engineered to move on to CNG.

“I read somewhere that gas marketers are saying that by December, the price of a 12kg cylinder may go up to N25,000 and what did they cite as issues? Things like the transportation, infrastructure network, etc. The cost of transportation is what is adding to the overhead.

Earlier in a report, Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with the hike in the price of cooking gas, which has reportedly hit over N1,000 per kilogram (Kg). Those who bought cooking gas recently told Legit.ng they were unhappy with the increase in cooking gas prices and how hardship in Nigeria persists.