Beyond the Stopgap measure: import surges haven’t relieved pressure on Nigeria’s LPG market
For Mrs Esther Akpan, who runs a small-scale restaurant in the Ilasa area of Lagos, it is not yet time to return to using cooking gas, despite the slight drop in prices in recent weeks.
Mrs Akpan, who has been cooking all the food sold in her restaurant for the past four months with charcoal stove, said even though the price of cooking gas has dropped in the last two weeks, the cost is still elevated compared to what it used to be last year and early this year.
The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, had skyrocketed in the last two months, reaching an all-time high of ₦2,500 per kilogramme in some parts of Nigeria from about ₦1,100.
Industry stakeholders attributed it to a supply disruption caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which blocked vessel movements due to the ongoing war between Iran, Israel and the United States since late February.
The price surge forced many Nigerian households to resort to other environmentally less friendly cooking alternatives such as the use of charcoal stoves and firewood.
While prices seem to have tapered down in the last few weeks, dropping to between N1,300 and N1,600 per kilogramme following improving supply, consumers believe that the product still remains expensive.
Despite widespread expectations that local refining capacity and the federal government’s interventions would cushion domestic supply, official energy data reveals a resurgence of reliance on imported cooking gas. Even as the country flooded its supply chain with imported LPG, the price of a refill barely budged for the families who need it most.
Cooking Gas imports into Nigeria surged by roughly 1,400 percent to 1.5 kilotonnes per day in June from 0.1 in May 2026, according to data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The downstream regulator’s June Fact Sheet, released on July 17, 2026, attributed the dramatic jump to a deliberate push to address supply shortages and stabilize prices nationwide.
The scale of the shift becomes clear against the backdrop of national demand. Daily LPG consumption in the country climbed 24 percent, rising to 5.1 kilotonnes per day in June from 4.1 kilotonnes the previous month. Of that total, domestic refineries and processing plants supplied 3.6 kilotonnes per day, while imports covered the remaining 1.5 kilotonnes. The data also shows that local supply declined by 10 per cent, dropping from 4.0 KT/D to 3.6 KT/D over the same period. This means supply from imports accounted for nearly 30 percent of total daily national receipts (5.16 KT/D).
While international shipments boosted total LPG consumption, industry analysts warned that heavy reliance on imported gas exposes local retail prices to foreign-exchange volatility, high maritime freight costs, and global market shifts.
The latest NMDPRA data reflects a striking reversal. In 2025, Nigeria’s full-year LPG consumption stood at about 52,900 metric tonnes, with domestic producers supplying roughly 45,800 tonnes and imports making up only about 13 percent of the total. In the months just before the June spike, the trend was actually moving the other way: imported volumes had fallen to 200 tonnes per day in March 2026, down from 1,600 tonnes per day in November 2025.
Why the Government turned to Imports
The pivot back toward heavy importing followed a public commitment from Rabiu Umar, chief executive of the NMDPRA, who told industry stakeholders in mid-June that targeted imports would be the fastest measure to bring down cooking gas prices.
READ ALSO:
Middle East War Hits Nigerian Kitchens as Cooking Gas Price Rises to ₦1,500/kg
Fresh Concerns as Cooking Gas Price Rises
Nigeria’s Cooking Gas Supply Hits 5,040 MT Daily in June, But High Price Persists
Consumers Groan as Cooking Gas Hits ₦1,600/kg, 12.5kg now ₦20,000 Amid Supply Squeeze
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting, Umar argued that imports were the only immediate way to close the supply gap, while also calling for Nigeria to build more storage, terminals and distribution infrastructure so the country isn’t forced to rely on short-term fixes indefinitely.
However, industry experts maintain that temporary import surges are merely a stopgap measure.
A Supply Chain Still Under Strain
Analysts and industry groups point to a tangle of underlying pressures rather than any single cause. Retailers and industry stakeholders cite persistent supply shortages, high transportation costs, foreign exchange pressures, logistics bottlenecks and broader market inefficiencies as the forces keeping prices elevated even as both local production and imports rise.
Inland transportation costs in particular are blamed for much of the price variation between states, with depots closer to Dangote Refinery generally offering the cheapest gas.
“The price is just reducing. We are selling ₦1,600 per kg now, compared to over ₦2,000 we sold before now,” said Kemi Fagbenro, an LPG retailer in the Ilasa area of Lagos.
She said they had experienced difficulty in getting supply from depot operators in May and June, coupled with the cost of logistics.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) had in a statement last month noted that at the current price, cooking gas costs remain high.
Aside from Logistics and foreign exchange costs, NALPGAM president, Edu Inyang, also cited low domestic production as part of the reason cooking gas prices still remain high. “Domestic production is still insufficient to fully satisfy national demand, and market competition has not yet driven prices downward,” he stated.
Oil and gas expert, Olabode Sowunmi, also echoed similar concerns about low production hindering domestic gas use.
Speaking with Petroleumpric.ng, Sowunmi, who is the CEO of Cabtree Limited, said, “What’s holding domestic gas utilisation back has more to do with production than with policy design. … The constraint is that production hasn’t caught up to what the framework calls for.”
He called for more efforts towards building production and distribution infrastructure to deepen gas adoption and usage, and also significantly bridge the supply-demand gap.
The Paradox of Abundance
Some industry analysts also believe that the current price squeeze underscores a persistent paradox in Africa’s largest natural gas producer. Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) indicates that between January 2025 and mid-2026, Nigeria flared over 300 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) of natural gas—worth an estimated $888 million.
Furthermore, more than 56 per cent of all marketed gas during that 18-month period was routed to international export contracts rather than local domestic distribution.
This structural imbalance continues to clash with the Federal Government’s flagship “Decade of Gas” agenda, which aims to transition households away from dirtier cooking fuels (such as charcoal, firewood, and kerosene) toward clean LPG.
Victor Ezeja is a Nigerian journalist skilled in producing insightful news analyses, feature stories, and interviews that simplify complex issues and drive informed public discourse. His work combines rigorous research, balanced reporting, and compelling storytelling to highlight developments shaping industries and society. Victor, who holds a Master's Degree in Mass Communication, specializes in energy, aviation, business, and economic reporting. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X