Cooking gas price’ll crash to N900/kg by year end — Marketers

The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) says retail cooking gas prices could fall to between N900 and N1,100 per kilogram by the end of 2026 if the Federal Government implements reforms to boost supply and cut costs.

The NALPGAM President, Edu Inyang, made the projection in Lagos on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

Inyang said although Nigeria has recorded significant growth in local Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) production, rising demand and persistent supply chain challenges continue to keep prices high.

Cooking gas, which sold for between N900 and N1,000 per kilogram in April, now costs between N2,000 and N2,500 per kilogram in many parts of Lagos.

Inyang said Dangote refinery and Nigeria LNG (NLNG) supplied about 87 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic LPG market in 2025.

He, however, noted that Dangote refinery later clarified that its LPG output was primarily intended for the production of higher-value products rather than the local cooking gas market.

“As a result, the refinery significantly reduced its allocation to the domestic LPG market, creating supply disruptions that the industry was not prepared for,” he said.

Inyang explained that while local cooking gas production had increased, many producers were still operating below installed capacity, leaving growing consumer demand unmet.

According to Inyang, inadequate storage facilities, high transportation costs, foreign exchange challenges, and multiple handling charges within the supply chain are major factors driving up retail prices.

He noted that LPG storage infrastructure remained concentrated in Lagos, Edo/Delta axis and Port Harcourt, with limited facilities in Northern Nigeria increasing distribution costs nationwide.

“Local production growth is encouraging, but consumers will not fully benefit unless bottlenecks in logistics, depot capacity, trucking and market access are addressed,” he added.

The NALPGAM president also blamed market inefficiencies such as speculative trading, excessive intermediary margins, and temporary product hoarding for occasional price distortions and artificial scarcity.

Dangote refinery cuts petrol price to N1,175/litre

To improve affordability, Inyang urged regulators to strengthen market surveillance, improve transparency in product allocation and pricing, and enforce fair competition across the LPG value chain.

For short-term price stability, Inyang recommended prioritising domestic cooking gas supply ahead of exports, improving access to foreign exchange, reducing regulatory bottlenecks, and expanding clean cooking support programmes for low-income households.

He also called for sustained investment in storage facilities, gas processing plants, LPG terminals, transportation networks, strategic reserves, and cylinder distribution systems.

Meanwhile, the federal government has assured Nigerians that LPG supply remained stable in spite of the recent increase in cooking gas prices.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, attributed the price hike to foreign exchange volatility, rising logistics costs, infrastructure limitations, and movements in international LPG prices.

He said ongoing reforms were aimed at strengthening domestic gas availability and improving the resilience of the LPG market.

Ekpo reiterated the government’s directive that all LPG produced in Nigeria should be prioritised for domestic consumption before exports, describing the policy as critical to improving local availability and reducing import dependence.

The minister also directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to deepen collaboration with industry stakeholders to improve supply coordination and prevent market disruptions.

He assured Nigerians that producers were not exporting LPG volumes designated for the domestic market, adding that regulatory safeguards remained in place to protect local supply.