The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, National Operations Controller, Mike Osatuyi , hinted the Press on Sunday that gas price hike is imminent following the high exchange rate of dollar, because IPMAN members sourced dollars for their products importation from the black market. He laments that gas consumers will be at receiving side on the bulk of the negative effects of the inflation as long as our naira remain weak.
In his words he said “Our members who still sell gas bought 20, 000 metric tonnes at around #11 million last month, but now the price has jumped to #12.3 million per 20, 000 metric tonnes “.
It was been expected that Nigeria as a major player in the oil and gas business, should have make more profit in the gas exportation, due to low gas supplies at the international market. But the reverse have been the case as the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, NLNG Production capacity have reduced to 60 percent of it production capacity.
A development that have been traced to pipeline vandalism, oil theft and maintenance cost.
In 2022 NLNG have been estimated to lost $7bn revenue due to the aforementioned challenges. This was revealed by the NLNG Ltd General Manager,Adeleye Falade during his address at the 45th Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition 2022.
He reliable informed that output and export from NLNG train – six Bonny plant have dropped to 16.8 million tonnes in 2021, from 20.7 million tonnes in 2020 and 2019.
Following the constraints bedevilling the Nigeria oil and gas sector, the country have not be able to meet up it global oil and gas demands, as Nigeria is 700, 000 bpd behind its OPEC quota. And this have cost a drift in investments, as foreign customers who depend on Nigeria gas supplies are looking somewhere else for their supplies.
It is obvious that with the hike in gas price occasioned by the challenges facing Nigeria oil and sector, their will be tougher times as the national income dwindle. At this point it is pertinent that Nigeria should diversify it economy and stop depending on one source for a more robust economy.
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