By John Ikani
The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, has expressed displeasure over the Low Penetration Of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria still has one of the lowest per capita LPG consumption in Africa despite numerous existing opportunities for LPG penetration and utilization in the West African nation.
The NCDMB boss made this known in Katsina State where Butane Energy Limited, one of the gas-based businesses supported with an equity investment by the board has opened its 100 metric tonnes LPG storage and bottling plant in the Kabukawa Layout of the state.
The new plant commissioned by Governor Aminu Bello Masari at the weekend, is aimed at addressing supply constraints in the domestic LPG market in the northern part of the country through the facility’s operations/bulk storage, transportation/distribution, cylinder filling and bulk retail.
Wabote explained that the project in Kastina State is the first leg of its partnership with Butane Energy Limited with the other LPG bottling plants and depots to be rolled out in 2022.
He stated that Butane Energy’s LPG storage and bottling plants would come up in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Bauchi states, while six depots would be located in Zamfara, Jigawa, Gombe, Plateau, Niger and Nasarawa states.
The NCDMB boss further explained that Section 70(h) of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010 mandates the Board to assist local contractors and Nigerian companies to develop their capabilities and capacities to further the attainment of the goal of developing Nigerian Content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
In his remarks, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, hinted that the commissioning was directly linked to the declaration of Decade of Gas by President Muhammadu Buhari, which seeks to reinforce Nigeria’s aspiration to leverage gas resources estimated at 206 trillion cubic feet to develop the nation’s industrial, commercial and agriculture base.
The Minister who was represented at the event by Dr. Nasir Sani Gwarzo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, added that “the deliberate focus of this administration to develop the Gas Sector is largely the driving force behind NCDMB commercial intervention in partnering with the private sector, to establish Butane LPG bottling plant in several Northern states including Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Niger, and the FCT.”
In his comments, Chairman of Butane Energy Limited, Isa Mohammed Inuwa, explained that the project would preserve the vegetation and discourage the use of wood to heat food, create job opportunities for the teeming youths and grow businesses profitably.
He underscored the importance of NCDMB’s equity investment to the project’s development, adding that the plant in Kastina could be expanded to 160 metric tonnes.
He added: “Our aspiration under the first phase is to establish five plants – in Kano, 180 tonnes; Bauchi, 120 tonnes; Abuja 180 tonnes and in Kaduna, 180 tonnes. Our expectation is that by September 2022, the firm would have five plants with total storage capacity of 820metric tonnes.”
