KEY POINTS
- Nigeria recorded a cooking gas deficit of 91,966 tonnes between January and June.
- Chevron Nigeria produced 148,222 tonnes of LPG this year and exported the entire volume.
- Cooking gas now sells for up to N2,100 a kilogram across the country.
Nigeria is shipping abroad the cooking gas its own households are struggling to afford. The country’s downstream regulator says producers keep exporting LPG even as a domestic deficit pushes prices to painful highs.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority laid out the picture at an emergency meeting in Abuja. Its chief executive, Rabiu Umar, said supply has fallen well short of national demand this year.
The numbers are stark. Nigeria recorded a year-to-date LPG deficit of 91,966 metric tonnes between January 1 and June 18. Total supply reached 565,106 tonnes against a benchmark of 657,072.
That shortfall dragged market coverage efficiency down to 86 per cent, from 88.4 per cent in 2025. The regulator warned the country could face a further gap of 165,000 tonnes in the third quarter.
Produced at home, sold abroad
The most striking finding sits with one producer. Chevron Nigeria produced 148,222 tonnes of LPG between January and May, about 22.93 per cent of national output, and exported the entire volume.
Nigeria LNG remained the largest producer at 187,559 tonnes, followed by the Dangote refinery with 105,127 tonnes. Yet a large share of local gas still leaves the country, drawn by better prices and easier dollars abroad.
The regulator stopped two Chevron cargoes in December, but admitted that jurisdictional disputes with the upstream regulator limit its reach. It said it will press Chevron, the upstream commission and the petroleum ministry to redirect more gas home.
Marketers carry part of the blame too. Oil marketing companies were allocated import quotas of 390,000 tonnes for the second quarter but delivered just 4.2 per cent of that volume.
What households are paying
The cost lands on Nigerian kitchens. Cooking gas now sells for between N1,400 and N2,100 a kilogram, far above the regulator’s indicative range of about N1,018 to N1,244.
A standard 12.5-kilogram cylinder has roughly doubled in price for many families since early 2024. The authority blamed non-cost-reflective pricing by wholesalers and retailers, plus weak distribution infrastructure.
Middlemen have made it worse. Traders, rather than terminal operators with storage, are now the main buyers from producers, forcing legitimate operators to source through intermediaries at a markup.
The government is pushing back. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, ordered the DSS, EFCC and police to crack down on hoarding, diversion and illegal exports.
There are early signs of relief. Stock sufficiency has improved from 11 days to 22, daily supply has risen, and the Anoh Gas Processing Plant should add volumes from July. Whether that reaches consumers, or simply sails offshore again, is the test now.
