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| Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
Nigeria’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector stands at a critical juncture. Demand is rising as households and businesses seek cleaner cooking and industrial fuels, yet persistent safety lapses, product losses, regulatory gaps, and market volatility threaten to undermine progress.
Against this backdrop, the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has issued a strong call for operators to prioritise safety, regulatory compliance, and digitalisation as the foundation for sustainable growth.
The message came during NALPGAM’s 2026 webinar, themed “Downstream LPG Operational Excellence and Compliance,” held last week (around October 15). The virtual gathering brought together marketers, plant operators, regulators, and other stakeholders to confront the sector’s most pressing challenges: safety risks, price swings, operational inefficiencies, and the need for stricter adherence to rules.
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Safety as Culture, Not Campaign
In his opening address, NALPGAM National President Barrister Edu Inyang set a clear tone: volume growth alone will not deliver a viable industry.
“The future of Nigeria’s LPG industry cannot be achieved by increasing volumes alone. We must grow safely, responsibly, efficiently and sustainably. Safety is not an occasional campaign; it must become a continuous industry culture,” Inyang stated.
This emphasis is timely. Nigeria is targeting annual LPG consumption of approximately 5 million tonnes by 2030 under initiatives linked to the Decade of Gas programme. Domestic use has already expanded significantly in recent years, but the path forward is complicated by high retail prices (recently reported around ₦1,500–₦1,600 per kilogram in some periods), supply bottlenecks, foreign exchange pressures, inadequate storage, and uneven distribution. A 20-metric-tonne truckload has been costing marketers between ₦25.2 million and ₦26.2 million depending on location, costs that cascade to consumers.
At the same time, unsafe practices continue to expose operators, customers, and communities to danger. Participants at the webinar specifically urged the elimination of unauthorised propane blending and illegal decanting—transferring gas from one cylinder to another outside licensed facilities. These activities increase explosion risks due to improper pressure, overfilling, or off-spec blends.
High propane content, for instance, can heighten volatility beyond accepted industry ratios (typically aiming for lower propane proportions in domestic LPG). Regulators such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) have repeatedly warned against and sanctioned such practices, sealing non-compliant outlets and stressing that only licensed cylinder exchange or filling operations are permitted.
The NALPGAM Standard of Operational Excellence
A central outcome of the webinar was the adoption of an aspiration for a “NALPGAM Standard of Operational Excellence.” This framework rests on four interlocking principles:
• Safe and well-maintained facilities
• Competent and adequately trained operators
• Compliant processes
• Customer protection
Inyang reinforced the point: “Our aspiration is clear: every LPG facility must be safe and properly maintained, every operator competent and adequately trained, every process compliant, and every customer protected. This is the standard of operational excellence we must collectively pursue.”
Compliance, he argued, should not be viewed merely as a regulatory burden but as a competitive advantage. “Well-managed LPG operations reduce accidents, improve efficiency, protect investments and strengthen public confidence in our industry.”
Operators were urged to embed safety into everyday routines, strengthen preventive maintenance programmes, meet licensing and incident-reporting obligations, and phase out informal or dangerous practices. This aligns with broader regulatory efforts by the NMDPRA and state-level collaborations aimed at safer transportation, storage, and retailing.
Digital Tools for Accountability and Efficiency
Beyond traditional safety measures, the webinar spotlighted digital technologies as practical solutions to longstanding problems of product losses, theft, and weak oversight. Tools discussed included:
• Smart filling systems
• Automated tank gauges
• Load cells and flow meters
• Vehicle tracking systems
These technologies can improve measurement accuracy, enhance inventory control, reduce shrinkage along the supply chain, and provide real-time visibility for better decision-making. In a market characterised by volatility and infrastructure constraints, such tools offer a pathway to higher operational discipline and lower costs over time.
Broader Context and Calls for Collaboration
NALPGAM also positioned its members as key partners in federal cooking-gas penetration and cylinder recirculation schemes. With nationwide reach and proximity to end-users, marketers can support wider access, better cylinder traceability, and promotion of certified local manufacturing.
The association called on programme coordinators and regulators to involve them more deeply in implementation.
The discussion occurs against a complex national energy backdrop. While Nigeria possesses substantial gas resources, domestic LPG supply has at times lagged demand, with some production volumes directed toward exports even as local prices climbed and stock levels fell short of preferred sufficiency thresholds. Import reliance, logistics challenges, and infrastructure gaps add further pressure.
Recent regulatory actions against suspected hoarding, diversion, and off-spec products underscore the need for tighter coordination across the value chain—from producers and terminal operators to marketers and retailers.
NALPGAM’s push reflects a maturing industry recognition that rapid expansion without corresponding standards risks accidents, erodes public trust, and ultimately slows the very growth everyone seeks. By framing safety and compliance as cultural and commercial imperatives rather than optional extras, and by embracing digital tools, the association is advocating a more professional, resilient downstream LPG market.
Sustained progress will require continued collaboration among marketers, the NMDPRA, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas), NNPC Limited, producers, and other stakeholders. If operators internalise the four principles of the proposed NALPGAM Standard and invest in both people and technology, Nigeria’s LPG sector can move closer to delivering safer, more reliable, and more affordable clean energy to households and businesses nationwide—while building a stronger foundation for the ambitious consumption targets set for the coming years.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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