FG Moves to Tame LPG Price Surge, Orders NMPRA to Crack Down on Hoarding, Speculation

The Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPRA), to intensify monitoring and enforcement across the LPG value chain to bring down cooking gas prices and curb hoarding and market manipulation.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo , issued the directive at a stakeholders’ meeting on the rising prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, in Abuja on Monday, saying the price spike is a matter of “public welfare, economic stability and national responsibility.”

Ekpo noted that the current price hike reflects temporary supply disruptions, reduced domestic output from key suppliers, weak import volumes, logistics costs, infrastructure limitations, and global LPG price movements.

Stakeholders during the meeting

But he insisted government is responding with urgency. A directive prioritizing LPG supply for domestic consumption remains central to policy, he said. Planned LPG supply volumes for July are expected to exceed national demand, subject to timely delivery and efficient distribution.

“There is no cause for panic. Government remains committed to adequate domestic gas supply and to the Decade of Gas initiative as a pathway for clean cooking, industrial growth and energy security,” Ekpo said. “Our message is simple: more supply, better distribution, stronger discipline, better outcomes for Nigerians.”

Ekpo said LPG price affects household budgets, restaurants, and small businesses directly. “When a family refills a cooking gas cylinder at higher cost, it affects the household budget. When restaurants or small businesses pay more, operating costs rise and consumers pay for it,” he said.

He directed NMPRA to intensify monitoring, engage operators, and work with security agencies to discourage hoarding, artificial scarcity, and opaque pricing.

The meeting was convened in response to recent headlines and public complaints over LPG costs. Ekpo thanked participants for attending, saying “it is all about our country.”

NMDPRA Chief Executive, Mallam Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, said the regulator has already started an enforcement drive on pricing. He acknowledged the paradox of Nigeria having over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves yet facing LPG shortages while exporting some of what is produced.

“The common man expects domestic prices to be cheaper than what is exported. That should be the case,” Umar said. “We will be much more aggressive in ensuring we do not allow any stone unturned to keep prices at a very high level.”

Umar said marketers have indicated readiness to increase imports, and new domestic facilities, including gas processing plants, are expected to supply more LPG in the coming weeks. He projected significant price relief before the end of July, “subject to shocks outside our control.”

He also disclosed plans for a local evacuation initiative with Nigerian LPG Limited, local producers, and the Okitipupa plant operator to move locally produced LPG closer to markets and cut logistics costs.

According to him the stakeholders agreed to focus on ensuring reliable LPG supply nationwide, Improving distribution efficiency and reducing bottlenecks and Eliminating speculative storage and market manipulation.

“Strengthening pricing transparency across the value chain, Encouraging investment in storage, transportation, and refilling infrastructure, Building a more resilient and competitive domestic LPG market”

Stakeholders that were in the meeting were Chevron, Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Nigeria Gas Association, NSGA, among others .