Compressed Natural Gas To Reduce Petrol Import By $4.4 Billion: Federal Government

The Federal Government announced on Tuesday that Nigeria was all set to reduce the importation of Premium Motor Spirit by $4.4 billion every year with the help of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) adaptation under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI).

The Coordinator, Regulations, Compliance and Facilitation of PCNGI, Zayyan Tambari, made this announcement at the Co-Creation Session on Nigeria Gas Vehicle Monitoring System in Abuja, adding that the government aims to replace 20% of the daily petrol consumption of 50 million liters with CNG.

According to the PCNGI, the initiative will require around $890 million investment to build an alternative fuel infrastructure. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo also echoed similar sentiments, explaining that the government will ensure that Nigeria gets maximum benefits from gas resources.

"We are at the point where we need to begin to talk about the safety issues in the use of CNG. We have got to educate ourselves and we have got to use specific tools and materials hitherto that we have not been using," he said, Punch reported.

"Recall what happened in 2009-2001 with the emergence of the cell phone during (former) President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime, from an economic perspective, a lot is going to happen. It is going to give us a lot of tools on how to utilize CNG."

The Executive Director of Distribution System, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Ogbugo Ukoha said the newly installed fuel stations will consist of CNG dispensers.

"The authority is also engaging the stakeholders that would result in mandating fuel trucks and fleet owners and also facilities to convert to the use of CNG given the high cost of diesel," Ukoha added.

The Project Director/Chief Executive of PCNGI Michael Oluwagbemi emphasized that using CNG would be cheaper, cleaner, safer and more sustainable for the economy, stressing this transition needs to be smooth and ensure that anyone with bad intentions is "fished out."

Oluwagbemi noted that in order to achieve this, PCNGI needs the "cooperation of all members of the ecosystem right from the point of inspection or conversion to the point of use, right from the point of manufacturing or importation of any part to the point of installation."

Furthermore, he stressed that there is a need for a very strong regulatory regime.