Nigeria has launched a national registry to track liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, a move aimed at improving safety, removing unsafe cylinders from circulation, and linking cleaner household cooking to carbon credits.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) announced the National Cylinder Recirculation Programme (NCRP) Friday at its operational headquarters in Lagos, in partnership with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) and other government and industry partners.
The programme seeks to address persistent risks in Nigeria’s LPG supply chain, including the circulation of expired, damaged and uncertified cylinders, limited access to cylinder histories, and gaps in inspection and requalification records.
Through a structured recirculation system supported by digital identification, regulators say the initiative will improve accountability and strengthen coordination among marketers, retailers and approved requalification facilities.
A central component is the National Cylinder Registry (NCR), powered by FuelTree’s virtual Cylinder Recirculation Management System (vCRM).
The platform assigns unique identities and smart QR tags to cylinders to record movements and lifecycle events, including distribution, refills, exchanges, inspections and requalification.
“Safe and reliable LPG use depends on more than access to gas,” Ifeanyi Okeke, director-general of SON, said.
“It requires strict adherence to cylinder quality standards, responsible handling, and effective lifecycle tracking,” he explained.
“Through the NCRP, we are unifying statutory quality control with digital traceability to protect Nigerian lives and property while building consumer trust in clean energy,” he added.
Participating stakeholders will be able to check cylinder status and monitor compliance requirements in real time.
According to Femi Oye, FuelTree director and chief technology officer the registry connects unique cylinder identity tags with real-time lifecycle tracking.
“This digital infrastructure enables seamless monitoring of requalification cycles, inspection records, and carbon credit metrics as cylinders move through the supply chain,” he said.
Beyond cylinder safety, the NCRP is designed to accelerate Nigeria’s shift toward cleaner household cooking by encouraging LPG as an alternative to traditional fuels such as firewood, charcoal and kerosene.
The programme will seek to establish the data needed to support carbon-credit generation from verified reductions in the use of these fuels.
Any credits would be subject to approved methodologies, independent verification and applicable regulatory requirements.
Revenue from such a mechanism could help improve access to cylinders and reduce refill costs for vulnerable households, depending on the programme’s financing arrangements, SON said.
Translating the vision into practical outcomes will require coordination, according to Bekeme Olowola, NCRP Secretariat lead programme director.
“By linking safety compliance directly to environmental impact and climate attributes, we are creating a holistic framework that delivers domestic safety and global climate credibility,” she said.
The initiative brings together the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas), the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Decade of Gas Secretariat and the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG), alongside SON, NMDPRA and NCCC. Industry participants include LPG marketers, cylinder requalification providers, retailers and technology companies.
Better Gas, the programme’s retail partner, said reliable supply logistics and strong retail partnerships are critical for last-mile access. “Better Gas is already aligned with the objectives of the NCRP through our cylinder-swapping model and micro-distribution centres across Abuja,” Gbolahan Obanikoro, chief executive, said.
“The programme also presents an opportunity to support cylinder requalification and expand the availability of safe cylinders.”
The programme is anchored on Section 5(1) of the SON Act No. 14 of 2015, a presidential directive (SGF Ref: 59495/S.1/C3/PRCM) and a National Assembly directive (NASS Ref:NASS/CAN/35/Vol.5/043), which provide the stated legal and policy basis for quality control, safety compliance and digital tracking of certified gas equipment.
Implementation will begin with stakeholder onboarding, integration with the digital registry and rollout activities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The national unveiling is scheduled for Oct. 28-29 in Abuja alongside the Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum 2026. An international unveiling is planned for COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov. 9-20.
As implementation progresses, the NCRP will focus on improving LPG cylinder safety and accountability, supporting access to cleaner cooking and establishing a reliable basis for measuring environmental benefits.
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Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a journalist with over five years’ reporting experience. She writes on industry, agriculture, commodities, climate change, and environmental issues. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.
