SON launches national cylinder tracking to boost LPG safety

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has launched a national programme to register and track cooking gas cylinders, in a push to get expired and damaged ones out of circulation.

The National Cylinder Recirculation Programme (NCRP) was unveiled at SON's operational headquarters in Lagos on Friday. It brings together the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the National Council on Climate Change and industry players.

For ordinary Nigerians, the issue is safety at home. Many cylinders in use are old, uncertified or poorly maintained, and SON says the new system is meant to stop unsafe equipment reaching kitchens and refill points.

How the tracking works

At the centre of the programme is a National Cylinder Registry, powered by FuelTree's virtual Cylinder Recirculation Management System, which gives each cylinder a unique identity. A smart QR tag on the cylinder records its movements and key events: registration, filling, distribution, exchange, inspection and requalification.

Regulators, marketers, retailers and approved facilities can then check a cylinder's status before it is filled or sold. Cylinders that pass checks at Authorised Requalification Facilities stay in use; those that fail are held back for corrective action or disposal.

Consumers will be able to swap their existing cylinders through approved retailers, and the collected cylinders go for inspection and requalification.

SON Director-General Dr Ifeanyi Okeke said safe gas use needs more than access to gas. It requires strict adherence to cylinder quality standards, responsible handling and effective lifecycle tracking, he said.

Dr Bekeme Olowola, Lead Programme Director of the NCRP Secretariat and Managing Director of FuelTree, said the programme is about more than putting QR codes on cylinders. It is building a national system that makes cylinder safety verifiable, she said.

Cleaner cooking and climate money

The programme also aims to encourage households to move from firewood, charcoal and kerosene to cooking gas. That shift could cut household smoke and pressure on forests.

Its digital records are intended to support carbon credits from verified reductions in traditional fuel use. Any credits would depend on approved methods, independent checks and regulatory approval, and revenue could help subsidise cylinders and refills for poorer households.

Industry groups have backed the safety push. Bassey Essien, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, said some cylinders in circulation are long overdue for withdrawal. He said he keeps a 60-year-old cylinder at his secretariat as a specimen.

Bolaji Orofinlu of Better Gas said the company's cylinder-swapping model and micro-distribution centres in Abuja already fit the programme's goals.

What happens next

SON says stakeholder onboarding and digital registry integration will follow, rolled out in phases across the six geopolitical zones. A national unveiling is planned for 28–29 October 2026 in Abuja alongside the Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum 2026, with a presentation also planned at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.