Mr Olumide Adeosun, Managing Director of Eterna Plc, has called for targeted funding and policy-driven investments in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector to scale up domestic usage and promote clean cooking across Nigeria.
Adeosun made the call while speaking on the theme, “Driving a Sustainable Energy Future through Investment in Midstream and Downstream Infrastructure”, on Wednesday in Lagos.
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He emphasised the need to shift more attention toward LPG, describing it as vital to public health and environmental protection.
“Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is currently receiving a lot of attention, and rightly so, it holds great promise for the future of heavy goods transportation in Nigeria.
“However, we can not overlook LPG, especially for household use,” he said.
Adeosun noted that Nigeria’s LPG consumption had declined in recent years, in spite of earlier projections of reaching five million metric tonnes per annum by 2025.
“The problem isn’t production; it’s distribution.
“Gas isn’t getting to where it’s most needed, at the grassroots, largely due to inadequate investment in last-mile infrastructure,” he said.
According to him, the real challenge lies in the affordability and availability of cooking cylinders, which remain the primary means of LPG use at the household level.
“You don’t cook from a plant or a skid. You cook using a 3kg or 12.5kg cylinder.
But without financing models to make these bottles accessible to end users, especially low-income households, LPG adoption will remain limited,” he said.
He commended Techno Oil for establishing a 500,000-bottle-per-annum cylinder manufacturing plant but stressed that much more needs to be done to ensure broad-based access to cooking gas.
“The money is available. What’s missing is a bankable business case, a practical financial model that supports distribution and end-user affordability,” Adeosun added.
He revealed that Eterna Plc is focusing on retail-level engagement aimed at meeting customers where they are, ensuring consistent restocking and support for new users.
Adeosun acknowledged the risks associated with initiatives such as pay-as-you-go LPG models, where customers might default or disappear with loaned cylinders, but maintained that innovation remains key to achieving wider adoption.
“Until we solve these challenges, we won’t see the kind of growth we’re aiming for,” he warned.
To fast-track gas adoption, Adeosun urged the government to incentivise the conversion of heavy-duty vehicles and industrial machinery to CNG.
He also called on the government to subsidise the distribution of LPG adoption kits, cylinders, stoves, and cookers to rural and low-income households.
“Government should mandate gas infrastructure inclusion in all future residential estates and encourage retrofitting of existing ones,” he said.
Adeosun pointed out that without these structural interventions, particularly at the last mile, the government’s campaign to deepen gas penetration might fall short of its objectives.
“We must develop demand centres through proper infrastructure. Only then can we bridge the gap between supply and real usage,” he noted.
