NLNG, marketers assure Nigerians of availability of gas

Released vessel to arrive Lagos with 13,000MT of product

THE Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), and the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), have reassured Nigerians of the continuous availability and price stability of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) otherwise known as cooking gas.

This reassurance became necessary after several days of detention of an NLNG gas vessel “Navigator Capricorn by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and safety agency (NIMASA) due to is- sues surrounding an alleged violation of the Cabotage Act.

The NLNG chartered vessel according to the company’s Manager of Communication and Public Affairs, Andy Odey, was released and commenced loading to Lagos last week Tuesday and Wednesday.

Odey confirmed the departure of the vessel on Sunday from Bonny, saying that there shouldn’t be any worry or concerns over cargo not being delivered because it is expected in Lagos this week, as it takes two days to journey from Bonny.

He wasn’t precise about which day of the week the vessel was likely to arrive Lagos, but he disclosed that it was carrying 13,000 metric tonnes of gas, hence there shouldn’t be scarcity of cooking gas.

Meanwhile, NALPGAM’S Executive Secretary, Bassey Essien, also confirmed that there wasn’t any gap in the supply of the product thus far, as there were other ter- minals like Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO), NAVGAS, AITEO among others who also import.

He explained that the fear about the detained vessel was owing to the fact that the bulk of supply comes from NLNG, but even at that there is gas, as NIPCO has just taken delivery of a vessel.

“Our fear was that if as a result of the detention a gap exists, the gap could be exploited to increase price because of inadequate sup- ply, but there is still some normalcy,” he added.

Speaking about pricing, Essien confirmed there wasn’t any hike in price and as of Monday morning, the price still hovered around 4.150 million /20MT.

Meanwhile, when The

Guardian visited Navgas LPG terminal in Apapa at the weekend, and found out that a vessel discharging at the early hours of Friday as many gas tankers were on a queue ready to be served as soon as opera- tions began.

Some of the drivers who spoke with The Guardian said they were not aware of any suspicions of scarcity as they have been at the terminal for about a week waiting to be served.

The first driver on the long queue, who groaned about how hectic getting to the terminal was, noted that he has been there for about five days, and was optimistic to be served after the vessel was done discharging.