Nigeria, with the largest proven gas reserves and increasing production in Africa, is facing a shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) popularly known as cooking gas.
The shortage has continued to drive up retail prices and put pressure on households and businesses across the country.
Reports said data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that 62 per cent of the country’s gas output in the first two months of the year was exported, leaving only 38 per cent for domestic use.
Industry analysts warned that a supply structure built for a period of lower gas use simply cannot meet today’s demand.
An industry report titled: Nigeria LPG Production & Supply Matrix (2023-2026) said national cooking gas consumption rose to 20 per cent to 1.8 million metric tonnes in 2026 from 1.5 million metric tonnes in 2023.
However, the estimated supply at the national level was between 1.55 million and 1.65 million metric tonnes leading to a supply gap.
The report said domestic production has increased with inputs from facilities such as the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria LNG and a number of gas processing plants.
Retail cooking gas prices have soared because of the supply-demand imbalance.
LPG now costs between ₦1,700 and ₦2,000 per kilogramme in many parts of the country, compared to an average of about ₦1,100 per kilogramme earlier in the year.
Industry operators said prices could keep rising if structural challenges are not addressed.
Reasons behind the shortage, experts said, included lack of enough gas infrastructure, priority given to exports, insecurity and pipeline vandalism, limited storage capacity and regulatory bottlenecks.
Nigeria lacks sufficient pipelines, storage and processing facilities to transport gas efficiently from production fields to consumers, an industry stakeholder told Reuters, asking not to be named.
He said producers also prefer export markets as they tend to give better returns and more stable foreign exchange earnings.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers stated that the situation had brought severe hardship to households and businesses.
The association’s National President, Edu Inyang and Executive Secretary, Bassey Essien said that the rising prices at the depots and the supply shortages were making cooking gas unaffordable.
“This unfortunate situation has brought untold hardship to millions of Nigerian households, small businesses, food vendors and low-income families who rely on LPG for daily cooking and livelihood,” they said.
The association warned that many families were going back to firewood and charcoal with the rising cost of gas.
Industry stakeholders said the outlook was unclear in the short and medium term.
The National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, Colman Obasi, said that it will take years to solve infrastructure deficit, insecurity, foreign exchange volatility and regulatory challenges.
He warned that gas shortages could continue in the country even with its huge reserves without major investments in gas processing, storage and distribution infrastructure.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the price of cooking gas has risen by about 335 per cent in the last 10 years.
The average price rose from ₦400 per kilogramme in 2016 to about ₦1,741 per kilogramme in 2026, a reflection of the combined effect of supply constraints and wider economic pressures.
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