MD of KAD Energy Limited, Ifunanya Oti (2nd left); Executive Secretary of WIEN, Engr Asanimo Omezi; MD of Smart Gas Limited, Mrs Yinka Opeke; President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatai-Williams; and Publicity Director of WIEN, Mrs Onyema Obi; pose with some staff members of Smart Gas Limited during the partnership agreement between WIEN and Smart Gas Limited in Lagos.
How Smart Gas, WIEN drive private agenda for LPG penetration
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Leading gender equity advocacy group, Women in Energy Network (WIEN) and the indigenous community focused gas distribution champion, Smart Gas Limited, are working together to accelerate energy access to communities across the 774 local council areas in the country to benefit poor homes with the benefits of cleaner fuels.
Under the arrangement, WIEN will add advocacy fillip to the free gas and cylinder distribution programme of Smart Gas Limited to break the entry cost barriers impeding switch from dirty fuels to clean burning cooking gas in kitchens of the rural and urban poor.
President, Women in Energy Network (WIEN), Mrs Eyono Fatayi- Williams
The Oracle Today reports that the free cylinder programme which targets distribution of over 100,000 prefilled gas cylinders per annum runs faster and smoother in a different lane from the numerous and nebulous gas expansion programmes initiated by government but stalled at implementation stages.
The private initiatives by the two entities also lay template for deepening the domestic gas market by un-bottling suppressed demand and creating incentives for commercial investments in gas penetration in neglected communities where women and girls fall vulnerable to health hazards associated with indoor air pollution caused dirty cooking fuels like coal, firewood and kerosene.
President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatai-Williams, explains that acceleration of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) penetration to poor communities underscores a strand of the group’s advocacy that women and girls who take traditional roles in kitchens must be provided with improved quality of life. She pointed at the tasks of fetching firewood, managing hot coals and endless search for kerosene all for very inefficient and hazardous modes of preparing food for families.
Managing Director of Smart Gas Limited, Dr Yinka Opeke, describes the collaboration as different way of delivering on the cooking gas penetration agenda of the government, explaining that the cylinder distribution unlocks suppressed demand, deepens the domestic market and widens opportunities for investments along the gas retail chain.
Managing Director of Smart Gas Limited, Dr Yinka Opeke
She said Smart Gas Limited continues to work with local government councils, political groups, non-profit advocates like WIEN and donor agencies to mobilize sponsorship for free distribution of starter packs with which demand and consumption are created.
The collaboration, industry analysts have noted, proves more realistic than laudable arrangements initiated and poorly implemented by government under numerous policies and programmes.
Pundits have found it difficult to discern issues that have steadily and strongly impeded the various government programmes to optimize the economic value of the nation’s abundant natural gas resources.
The various policies and programmes include the Associated Gas Fiscal Arrangement (AGFA), the Nigerian Gas Masterplan (NGMP), Nigerian Gas Revolution, Nigerian Gas Policy, Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), Nigerian LPG Gas Penetration (NLGP), Nigerian Flare Gas Commercialization Programme (NFGCP) and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The programmes have in the past two decades of different administrations of the federal government suffered implementation strategy flaws despite huge budgets and loud hypes. And government has rolled their implementation into a vast Decade of Gas agendum, which further worsens the speed of implementation.
Yet, a number of economic and environmental factors including the prevailing global energy transition, internal energy deficits, environmental issues, falling national resource income, rising energy demand and stalled market growth continue to mount pressure on the industry to unleash the commercial prowess of natural gas by activating existing programmes.
In response, foreign and indigenous investors in the industry have in demonstrating viability of the rapidly changing natural gas market initiated projects in production, distribution and consumption of differing specifications natural gas for industrial, transportation and home application.
In the midstream sector of the industry, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, Platform Petroleum Limited, Oilda Energy Group-including Xenergi and Nedogas, Seplat Petroleum, and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited stand out as key investors in harnessing and processing upstream gas.
Downstream transportation distribution, other companies like Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Axxela Limited, Falcon Corporation and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) dominate bulk and dedicated industrial supplies.
Retail end of the market is expectedly rules by petroleum products retail players who integrate LPG into their retail facilities. And independent LPG retailers also target developed urban demand centers which are patronized by empowered consumers.
The Oracle Today reports that the distribution pattern and market partitioning have seen most retail players chasing urban demand and neglecting low and suppressed rural and poor community demands.
Dr Opeke points at poverty and cost of switching from traditional dirty fuels to cooking gas as the key barrier in unlocking demand from poor and rural communities where, according to her, the volume of demand fails to command investments in retail facilities.
She said that Smart Gas partnered WIEN in its efforts to pioneer private sector promotion of LPG penetration in rural and underserved communities. And WIEN which leads gender equity campaign in the country is excited to participate in deepening cleaner energy accessibility in underserved communities in Nigeria as part of the advocacy to enhance the quality of life for women and girls.
The partners will leverage the already robust campaign strategies of WIEN and Smart Gas’s innovative outreaches in LPG penetration in Lagos State and FCT to drive this cooking gas penetration programme and break the entry barriers that impede access to cleaner fuels in rural homes.
The collaboration will optimize the already running gas cylinder distribution promoted by Smart Gas to enhance its advocacy for cleaner home fuels and free the hands of women and girls in the country for more productive ventures.
Both parties in the arrangement will jointly pursue collaboration with sponsors to provide about 100,000 free prefilled cooking gas cylinders annually for distribution to poor families and assist them switch from the use of dirty kitchen fuels to cleaner, environmentally friendly and healthier use of LPG.
It will focus on expanding the distribution network of LPG in areas that have traditionally relied on conventional less efficient and more harmful energy sources such as firewood, kerosene, and charcoal. These conventional methods of cooking are not only harmful to health but also contribute significantly to environmental degradation. And by providing a cleaner alternative, this partnership aims to reduce the health hazards associated with indoor air pollution while promoting environmental sustainability.
Vice President in charge of Gas, Dr Sofia Horsefall, and Executive Secretary, Engr Asanimo Omezi, represent WIEN at industry event in Lagos
Mrs. Fatai-Williams, declares: “Energy accessibility is a fundamental right, and through this partnership, we aim to ensure that more households in underserved communities have access to clean, affordable, and safe cooking energy. The use of LPG will not only improve the quality of life but also empower women by reducing the time and energy spent on traditional cooking methods.”
To ensure the widespread adoption of LPG, Smart Gas will collaborate with WIEN to strengthen its multi-pronged strategy that relieves the rural and underprivileged families of the initial cost burden of switching to use of LPG. This entails that both parties will team up in the campaign for LPG penetration and explore sponsorship for free cylinder distribution.
Dr. Opeke outlines the economic and commercial benefits associated with the programme to include enhanced and deepened demand for LPG to create additional market and commercial incentive for investments in production, trade and retail of the product.
She states: “Affordability of these cylinders is a major challenge for our target audience, however, once we are able to cover that initial cost, refills are more affordable. This increases the demand for gas in those localities, opening up opportunities for private sector investments in gas plants, retailers’ locations and accessory shops.”
She further clarified that their 3kg and 6kg sizes will target households while their bigger sizes would target roadside food sellers using firewood to cook. The collaboration also commits to roll out community-based orientation programs to teach residents the safe handling and use of LPG, including basic safety measures, and knowing what to do in the event of a gas leak. The campaign will also inform communities about the health and environmental benefits of switching to LPG.
In promoting public-private partnerships in the national agenda on LPG penetration, the partnership will also seek to collaborate with the Federal Government, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, State and Local Governments, Industry Players, Non-Governmental Organizations, and other stakeholders in mobilizing the necessary resources and ensuring that LPG access reaches the most remote areas.
Far-reaching impacts of the collaboration include significant reduction in respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution caused by dirty traditional cooking fuels, and save significant number of women and children in low-income households from early deaths each year.
The collaboration also aims to enhance Smart Gas’s scheme to allow women engage in other productive activities, including education, entrepreneurship, and family care by relieving them of the drudgery of gathering firewood and difficult cooking methods.
The widespread use of LPG is also expected to curb deforestation and the environmental impact caused by the overuse of firewood. By reducing the reliance on traditional fuels, the initiative will contribute to efforts aimed at tackling climate change and conserving natural resources.
By promoting LPG use, the initiative will create new business opportunities within the local communities. The expansion of LPG distribution networks will lead to job creation in areas such as sales, cylinder refilling, and distribution, thereby stimulating local economies.
The partnership between Smart Gas and WIEN projects a model for organizations and governments seeking collaboration to improve energy access while promoting environmental sustainability.
The Smart Gas-WIEN collaboration is therefore not just about providing clean cooking energy; it’s about improving lives, fostering economic development, and creating a safer and more sustainable future for underserved communities across Nigeria. Thus, WIEN and Smart Gas, through this collaboration, are paving the way for an energy revolution that will positively transform the lives of millions in Nigeria.
