Govt to replace kerosene with gas, says NNPC boss
Govt to replace kerosene with gas, says NNPC boss
The Federal Government is planning to make liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) the primary domestic fuel for cooking.
The aim is to de-emphasise the use of firewood and kerosene and reduce the health risks of the two traditional sources of cooking.
The government is relying on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NNLG) to achieve this goal.
In a statement, NNPC’s Group Managing Director Dr Maikanti Baru said the need to replace firewood and kerosene with LPG was imperative to reduce health hazards and death.
The corporation, he said, would leave no stone unturned in increasing the use of cooking gas by individuals and industrial concerns.
He said Indonesia had succeeded in kerosene substitution, stressing that NNPC is looking forward to cooperating with Indonesia to achieve a similar feat.
Baru said: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will also like to partner with Indonesia and other countries in the area of bio-fuels production in order to diversify the nation’s energy mix for growth. Already, the Corporation has launched a campaign on deforestation to reduce tree felling and its attendant depletion of the ozone layer.”
At a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, NLNG’s Managing Director, Mr. Tony Attah, said the company was planning to increase LPG to increase the product’s accessibility.
He said Nigeria LNG would increase the penetration and market share of LPG by 32 per cent from 400,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to three million MTPA in five years, as part of efforts to make more Nigerians use the product.
A study by the company showed that the country must increase LPG production by 32 per cent, adding that given the right condition, the firm would achieve this goal soon.
“It is expected that an aggressive and well-coordinated market expansion strategy should lead to the growth of the Nigerian LPG market at annual rates of up to 32 per cent from the current level of over 400,000MTPA to over three million MTPA in five years with a potential increase in per capita consumption from approximately 2kg to over 12kg, well above the sub-Saharan average of 3.5kg per capita,” Attah said.
The NLNG chief said the gas giant had taken up the drive to improve LPG use in Nigeria, adding that its efforts must be complemented by the government to ensure the market peaks in line with the estimate revealed by its study.
On the subsector’s problems, Attah said dearth of investments in LPG reception facilities and supply infrastructure, onerous fiscal regime and regulatory environment, such as the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on LPG produced in the country, among others, were inhibiting the growth of LPG ‘ market.
He urged the government to remove fiscal and regulatory bottlenecks to create a conducive business environment for private sector investment in all segments of the value chain.
“The removal of VAT on LPG as well as taxes and duties, concessions for LPG equipment and cylinders must be at the top of the priority list for the government,” he said, adding that more people would use LPG in the country when these problems are resolved.’’
Source: The Nation
The Federal Government is planning to make liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) the primary domestic fuel for cooking.
The aim is to de-emphasise the use of firewood and kerosene and reduce the health risks of the two traditional sources of cooking.
The government is relying on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NNLG) to achieve this goal.
In a statement, NNPC’s Group Managing Director Dr Maikanti Baru said the need to replace firewood and kerosene with LPG was imperative to reduce health hazards and death.
The corporation, he said, would leave no stone unturned in increasing the use of cooking gas by individuals and industrial concerns.
He said Indonesia had succeeded in kerosene substitution, stressing that NNPC is looking forward to cooperating with Indonesia to achieve a similar feat.
Baru said: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will also like to partner with Indonesia and other countries in the area of bio-fuels production in order to diversify the nation’s energy mix for growth. Already, the Corporation has launched a campaign on deforestation to reduce tree felling and its attendant depletion of the ozone layer.”
At a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, NLNG’s Managing Director, Mr. Tony Attah, said the company was planning to increase LPG to increase the product’s accessibility.
He said Nigeria LNG would increase the penetration and market share of LPG by 32 per cent from 400,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to three million MTPA in five years, as part of efforts to make more Nigerians use the product.
A study by the company showed that the country must increase LPG production by 32 per cent, adding that given the right condition, the firm would achieve this goal soon.
“It is expected that an aggressive and well-coordinated market expansion strategy should lead to the growth of the Nigerian LPG market at annual rates of up to 32 per cent from the current level of over 400,000MTPA to over three million MTPA in five years with a potential increase in per capita consumption from approximately 2kg to over 12kg, well above the sub-Saharan average of 3.5kg per capita,” Attah said.
The NLNG chief said the gas giant had taken up the drive to improve LPG use in Nigeria, adding that its efforts must be complemented by the government to ensure the market peaks in line with the estimate revealed by its study.
On the subsector’s problems, Attah said dearth of investments in LPG reception facilities and supply infrastructure, onerous fiscal regime and regulatory environment, such as the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on LPG produced in the country, among others, were inhibiting the growth of LPG ‘ market.
He urged the government to remove fiscal and regulatory bottlenecks to create a conducive business environment for private sector investment in all segments of the value chain.
“The removal of VAT on LPG as well as taxes and duties, concessions for LPG equipment and cylinders must be at the top of the priority list for the government,” he said, adding that more people would use LPG in the country when these problems are resolved.’’
Source: The Nation
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