Following the announcement by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his last national broadcast to Nigerians that N100 billion will be spent to purchase 3000 CNG-powered buses to be distributed nationwide as part of efforts to lower the cost of road transportation in the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has swiftly moved to ensure the provision of enough CNG retail stations across the country to fuel these CNG buses and other vehicles.
The NNPC Limited in a press statement signed by the Company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba Deen Muhammad announced a strategic partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited to deploy Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations across the country. The NNPCL disclosed in the statement that the landmark collaboration with NIPCO aims to expand Nigeria’s CNG infrastructure, improve access to CNG, and accelerate the adoption of cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel for buses, cars and Keke NAPEP, which according to it, will significantly reduce the cost of transportation and engender sustainable national economic growth.
The statement further revealed that under the NNPC-NIPCO strategic partnership, 35 state-of-the-art CNG stations will be constructed nationwide, including three (3) Mother stations and that once fully operational, the stations can service over 200,000 vehicles daily, thereby significantly reducing the cost of automobile fuel for Nigerians and consequently the cost of transportation.
Garba Deen Muhammad stated that the project will be rolled out in phases with the first phase delivering 21 CNG Stations that will support intra-city transportation and which will be ready by the first quarter of 2024. The second phase, comprising 35 CNG stations, will support inter-city transportation and will be ready by late 2024. This will be further complemented by an additional 56 stations to be deployed by NNPC Retail across the country.
“NIPCO Gas Limited is currently operating 14 CNG stations across Nigeria and has converted over 7,000 vehicles to run on CNG. NIPCO’s technical competency and field experience will bolster this initiative’s success and amplify its positive impact on the Nation’s economy”, he said.
“This initiative will leverage Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources to bring multiple benefits to Nigerians, including access to cheaper fuel, reduced cost of transportation, reduced carbon emissions, create new business value chains and streams of job opportunities. NNPC Limited expects further private sector participation by oil marketing companies to broaden CNG penetration and availability.
“NNPC Limited remains committed to reliably delivering energy while continuously creating value for Nigeria’s prosperous future alongside our partners”, Muhammad concluded.