The Nigerian Government says that it is targeting the establishment of 2,322 Compressed Natural Gas stations nationwide by 2027 as part of efforts to deepen the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and expand gas mobility infrastructure across the country.
The Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electronic Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, said during the Nigerian Oil and Gas Midstream and Downstream Summit organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in Lagos.
Represented by an official of the agency, Olayinka Rufai, the chairman said that the government had made significant progress in expanding CNG infrastructure and vehicle conversion across Nigeria within less than three years.
According to him, at inception, about one state had CNG available commercially, but the gas is now available in 24 of the 36 states of the country.
“Today, in less than three years, we now have 24 states active. We are looking at what goes on elsewhere. I think we can safely say that it is probably the fastest we have seen anywhere in the world, especially if you consider the conditions under which we are doing this, the economy, and everything,” he said.
Ahmed stated that over 100,000 vehicles had already been converted to run on CNG, noting that most of them were commercial vehicles due to the government’s focus on reducing transportation costs for ordinary Nigerians.
“Because of the palliative nature with which we started, the majority of those vehicles turned out to be commercial vehicles, because we intended to make an impact that touched the common man,” he said.
He explained that the initiative was designed to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on transport costs and that the initiative had also attracted over $1bn in investments into the CNG mobility sector.
“Also, we have been able to attract over a billion dollars of investment directly into this new industry/market called CNG for mobility,” he stated.
Speaking on infrastructure development, he disclosed that Nigeria currently has 72 active CNG refueling stations and 175 more under development.
“And of course, from next-to-zero refueling stations outside of Benin, at our inception, over 72 active CNG stations are in Nigeria today. And believe you me, that number continues to climb,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria also has 28 compression stations in operation and 65 under development to support virtual gas pipeline distribution.
GIK/APA