(Ecofin Agency) - Techno Oil Limited has signed a multi-million naira contract with Cakasa Nigeria Limited to build a 12,000 metric tonnes automated Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal in Lagos State.

According to the Managing Director of Techno Gas and Power, Collins Onyeama, the project was part of moves to increase the use of LPG also known as cooking gas, as a source of domestic fuel by many households in the country rather than kerosene and firewoods.

He added that the project which is the largest in West Africa was made possible thanks to a facility provided by Access Bank Plc. Onyeama noted that Cakasa has until November 2017 to complete and bring the project online for use by Nigerians.

“This facility being built at the Kirikiri coastline at Apapa in Lagos is expected to boost LPG storage holding in Nigeria and it would be handled by CAKASA in partnership with a leading European firm that had handled similar facilities in Nigeria and other African countries. I am optimism that the facility would be a game-changer in getting more Nigerians and people in West Africa to embrace LPG for cleaner, safer and healthier environment,” he said.

The Managing director also noted that the project being engaged in by Techno Oil Group is part of efforts by the Federal Government to boost the consumption of LPG which currently standing at about 400,000 metric tonnes every year in Nigeria.
The industrialist said that inadequate public awareness on safety, limited refilling plants and high cost of imported cylinders are part of the factors that had made it difficult for the public to embrace LPG, the Sun news reports.

Even though the usage of cooking gas had risen by about 36.8% in Nigeria in the past three years, more than 90% of households still depend on kerosene, firewood and other harmful fossils for their energy needs, he noted.

Onyeama emphasized on the need to exploit Nigeria’s huge gas reserves, which are estimated at approximately 187tcf, the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world.

Anita Fatunji