Nigeria’s oil and gas major, Techno Oil Limited has unveiled its Techno Gas LPG cylinders at the 31st World LPG Forum rounding off at Houston, Texas in the United States.
The unveiling of the cylinders formally made Nigeria to join the big league of nations manufacturing LPG cylinders for export.
No fewer than 1,500 participants drawn from 72 countries and 89 companies exhibited various products with Techno Oil being the only African company that exhibited its cylinder products.
A statement by Techno Oil quoted the Senior Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Gbite Adeniji, as expressing his delight that Nigerian companies are steadily making appearances on the world stage.
“I’m pleased to have visited your lovely stand and I’m highly impressed with what I saw of your products,’’ Adeniji said at the Techno Oil exhibition pavilion.
“The cylinders look high quality. I continue to be impressed with your entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the oil and gas sector.’’
Similarly, the Managing Director of Ultimate Gas Limited, Alhaji Auwalu Ilu, lauded the management of Techno Oil for flying Nigeria’s flag at the global event.
He said he was impressed with the quality of the cylinders and implored Techno oil to continue to make Nigeria at the world stage.
On his part, the Executive Director Commercial, Nigerian Products Marketing Company, Mr. Billy Okoye, expressed delight with Techno Oil and its remarkable achievement in manufacturing cylinders.
Also speaking the Deputy Director/ Head, Downstream of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mrs. Ijeoma Onyeri, urged the company to sustain the quality of its products and to ensure safety in its manufacturing operations.
In a speech at a ceremony to unveil the cylinders, the Executive Vice-Chair of Techno Oil, Mrs. Nkechi Obi said it was a fulfilling moment for her to announce to the world that made in Nigeria LPG cylinders could now be exported, rather than for Nigerians to continue to import cylinders and deplete its foreign reserves.
“We’re using this forum to announce to the world that TechnoGas cylinders have hit the market and we’re ready to meet every demand, local and international.
She told the gathering that Nigeria had expended billions of dollars importing LPG cylinders from various countries, especially China, India and other Asian countries.
Obi, whose company recently completed the building of Nigeria’s largest LPG cylinder manufacturing plant, said Techno Gas cylinders would help the federal government save resources in importing cylinders and their accessories.
“The era of Nigerians depending on sub-standard cylinders imported from India, China and other countries is over for Nigerian and West African households.”
She, however, lamented that the world was leaving Nigeria behind in LPG adoption, in spite of Nigeria’s top position in the league of gas-rich nations.
Obi noted that some industrialists had taken the initiative to promote LPG adoption in Nigeria, in a bid to not only to secure the environment and the future but to save scarce resources expanded by Nigeria annually to import kerosene and other cooking fuels.
She restated her concern on the worsening consequences of using solid gases such as firewood and charcoal in Nigerian homes.
According to the LPG adoption advocate, the World LPG Forum has again raised the stakes for the Nigerian government to realise that there is no better time than now for government to pay serious attention to discouraging Nigerians from using solid gases in cooking.
According to her, while the aim of using firewood, charcoal, animal dung etc. is to get food cooked, the Nigerian woman and her household are unknowingly exposed to inhalation of a myriad of harmful gases on daily basis.
“It doesn’t end there, these gases have far-reaching effects on the environment as they contribute to global warming and climate change.’’
The Techno Oil chief argued that global warming and climate change were directly responsible for increased global temperatures, flooding, food insecurity and desertification.
