ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s domestic supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, rose to a record 5,332 tonnes per day in July 2026, as NLNG/SEPNU emerged as the country’s largest supplier, new industry data show.

The latest figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) indicate that LPG supply increased by about 4.5 per cent from 5,100 tonnes per day in June to 5,332 tonnes per day in July.

The July figure was the highest monthly supply level recorded during the 13-month period covered by the regulatory data, pointing to a strengthening of domestic availability even as retail cooking gas prices remain elevated across parts of the country.

NLNG/SEPNU supplied 2,031 tonnes of LPG per day through vessels in July, accounting for approximately 38 per cent of total domestic supply during the month.

Other processing plants contributed 1,513 tonnes per day through trucks, while the Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied about 829 tonnes per day.

Overall, domestic sources accounted for 4,373 tonnes per day, or roughly 82 per cent, of the country’s LPG supply in July. Imports represented the remaining 18 per cent.

The supply composition underscores the growing importance of local production and processing in Nigeria’s effort to reduce exposure to imported cooking gas and improve energy security.

For consumers and businesses, however, increased supply has yet to translate fully into a corresponding reduction in retail prices.

The NMDPRA data show significant fluctuations in Nigeria’s LPG supply over the past year.

Daily supply stood at 4,500 tonnes in July 2025, before rising to 5,000 tonnes in August and falling to 3,900 tonnes in September.

Supply subsequently recovered to 4,500 tonnes in October, 5,000 tonnes in November and 5,200 tonnes in December.

The upward trend continued into the beginning of 2026, with supply reaching 5,100 tonnes per day in January before declining to 4,700 tonnes in February and March.

It fell further to 4,500 tonnes in April and 4,100 tonnes in May before recovering sharply to 5,100 tonnes in June and then reaching the July record of 5,332 tonnes.

The latest figures suggest that Nigeria’s LPG market is gradually moving towards greater domestic supply capacity, although volatility in production, logistics and distribution continues to influence the consumer market.

Despite the increase in supply, cooking gas prices have remained significantly above the N1,000 per kilogramme level.

Retail prices, which surged to as much as N2,400/kg during the sharp market disruption in May, have subsequently declined to between N1,300 and N1,600/kg, depending on location and market conditions.

The price gap between wholesale supply and retail markets has become a major issue for regulators, producers and consumers.

The development highlights a central challenge facing Nigeria’s LPG market: increased physical supply does not automatically translate into cheaper cooking gas when transportation, storage, distribution costs and market distortions remain significant.

NLNG has previously questioned the extent to which supply shortages alone were responsible for the dramatic increase in retail LPG prices.

The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, said some marketers were purchasing LPG from NLNG at significantly lower prices before selling it to consumers at much higher rates.

Falade disclosed during a media briefing in Lagos that NLNG had been selling LPG to buyers for between N800 and N900/kg when retail prices climbed as high as N2,400/kg.

He said the NMDPRA had indicated that after transportation and other associated costs, the product should have been sold at approximately N1,000 to N1,200/kg.

“When the product was being sold at N2,400 in the market, guess how much they were lifting it from us? It was between N800 and N900 per kg,” Falade said.

He attributed part of the disparity to distortions within the distribution and sales chain and said regulators were working to address the problem.

The July supply figures come as Nigeria seeks to deepen LPG adoption as an alternative to traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, charcoal and kerosene.

Greater LPG availability is strategically important for both household energy security and industrial development. A more reliable domestic supply chain could reduce import dependence, limit exposure to foreign exchange volatility and support investments in storage, transportation, bottling and distribution infrastructure.

The dominance of domestic sources in July is therefore significant.

With local producers and processing facilities supplying approximately four-fifths of the market, Nigeria is increasingly positioned to meet a larger share of its cooking gas demand from within the country.

But industry observers and consumers are likely to focus increasingly on whether the higher supply volumes translate into lower and more predictable retail prices.

The latest data also raise questions about the transmission of wholesale price reductions through the LPG value chain.

If supply continues to expand while retail prices remain elevated, attention is likely to shift towards transportation costs, terminal and storage capacity, bottling infrastructure, regional supply imbalances, distributor margins and other costs between producers and consumers.

For regulators, the challenge is therefore moving beyond simply increasing supply to ensuring that additional volumes reach end-users efficiently and at competitive prices.

The NMDPRA’s intervention in the distribution chain will be critical as Nigeria seeks to build a larger and more transparent LPG market.

The July record represents a significant improvement from the supply constraints recorded earlier in the year.

NLNG/SEPNU’s leading contribution, combined with volumes from other processing facilities and the Dangote refinery, points to an increasingly diversified domestic supply base.

Yet the market’s next test will be whether this growing supply can produce sustained benefits for consumers.

For Nigerian households already facing high living costs, the difference between a wholesale LPG price of below N1,000/kg and a retail price of N1,300–N1,600/kg remains substantial.

The trajectory of the LPG market will therefore depend not only on how much cooking gas Nigeria produces, but also on how efficiently the product moves from producers to consumers.

If supply growth is sustained and distribution bottlenecks are reduced, Nigeria could move closer to a more stable LPG market, with greater domestic energy security and potentially lower costs for households and businesses.

For now, the July figures provide a positive supply signal—but the price paid by consumers remains the more important measure of whether the expansion is translati