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Hyde Energy Attributes High Cost of LPG On Inadequate Infrastructure

By Moses Patience Chat

Hyde Energy Limited, a downstream oil and gas company, has attributed the high cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, to the inadequate supply, storage, and distribution infrastructure as well as scarcity of dollars in the market.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Company,  Mr. Oladimejj Edwards, made the assertion in Lagos, during a conference with journalists, where he rolled out the company’s upcoming plans and initiatives for deeper penetration into the LPG and lubricant markets.

During the meeting, Edwards also called on the incoming government to adopt a phased deregulation of petrol pricing to lessen the inevitable pains that would be felt by Nigerians when the government eventually removes fuel subsidy.

He explained that the infrastructure deficit and the foreign exchange scarcity were responsible for the low consumption of LPG in Nigeria, compared to some countries on the African continent.

“I agree with you that lack of infrastructure has been why LPG is relatively more expensive than it should be. But you will agree with me also that over the years, the reason why LPG consumption volumes have almost quadrupled since 2018 is simply because of the fact that more and more infrastructure keeps on coming on ground, it takes time.

“We were at the lowest per capita consumption of LPG on the continent. In fact, we are still lower than Ghana, which has a population of 60 million and per Capita consumption because of the lack of infrastructure and that infrastructure.

“Bear in mind, a skid is a piece of infrastructure, a filling plant is piece of infrastructure, a bottling plant is a piece of infrastructure, a dredger is part of the infrastructure and of course, the jetty.

“But ultimately, it is this integration back to the gas field that will ultimately bring down the absolute price of LPG overtime and it will happen,” he said.

Edwards said subsidy removal and total deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry has been a 20-year old conversation and that there was no need for further delay about the removal of the uneconomic and wasteful policy.

In his own words, “so, as my personal opinion and as a private citizen, I believe in phased deregulation because we are also in life with human beings who have different needs. A phased deregulation will be easier and also help the government retrieve some cash and also easy on the population.

“But one of the things I would advocate is that the pressure groups or government pressure groups should ensure that whatever commitments government make as palliatives should be met and if I were them, I would focus on some typical areas -education and health, and it’s not just education as a word, there should be a deeper meaning to investment in education.”

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