The Federal Government has announced an immediate halt to the exportation of locally produced Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, in a bid to stabilize domestic prices.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, issued the directive during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, mandating that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and LPG producers must either cease exports or import equivalent volumes at cost-reflective prices, effective November 1, 2024.

The intervention comes as cooking gas prices have surged to N1,500 per kilogram from the previous range of N1,100-N1,250, despite earlier efforts to control prices through a high-level committee established in November 2023.

In a statement released by ministerial spokesman Louis Iba, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has been directed to develop a new domestic pricing framework within 90 days. The new framework will be based on local production costs rather than international market indices from the Americas and Far East Asia.

“This move will ensure Nigerians pay appropriate prices for a commodity the country is naturally endowed with,” the statement explained.

As part of long-term solutions, the government plans to develop facilities for blending, storage, and delivery of LPG within the next 12 months. The export ban will remain in effect until the market achieves sufficiency and price stability.

The minister’s intervention represents a significant policy shift aimed at making cooking gas more accessible and affordable for Nigerian consumers, addressing ongoing concerns about the commodity’s rising costs.