The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has launched a technology-powered smart fuelling station at the headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja, with plans to roll out between 50 and 70 similar facilities across the country within the next six months. Africans & Diaspora
The Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPCL, Mumuni Dagazau, told journalists shortly after commissioning the facility, that the Abuja station was the first of several smart stations the company plans to establish.
He explained that the station is part of the moves to transform its traditional filling stations into integrated energy and mobility hubs.
“This is the first of many smart stations that we are going to have around the country. What the whole concept is, we are trying to turn from a filling station to an energy hub,” he said.
He disclosed that the NNPCL has about four or five similar stations planned for Abuja, while two others were being launched in Kano, adding that the company intended to significantly expand the model across the country.
“We’re hoping to roll out a significant number, probably about 50 to 70 of these types of stations within the next six months. So this is what you’ll be seeing going forward from NNPC,” Dagazau said.
The newly commissioned facility has a 180,000-litre capacity for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 45,000-litre capacity for Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), with 16 pumps for petrol and two for diesel.
It also has six electric vehicle charging points, an automated car wash, lubricant service bay and facilities for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), while plans are underway to introduce compressed natural gas (CNG) services and a CNG vehicle conversion centre.
The station is powered by a solar system with more than 200 kilowatt-hours capacity and is designed to operate 24 hours daily.
The NNPC EVP said that the smart station was designed to give customers greater convenience by allowing them to dispense fuel themselves after making payment through an NNPC mobile application.
According to him, customers would be able to load funds into a digital wallet, generate a code and dispense the exact quantity of fuel purchased. He, however, said attendants would remain available to assist customers who were unable to operate the self-service system.
The NNPC executive also dismissed concerns that self-service fuelling could lead to job losses, arguing that the wider range of services offered by the smart stations would create additional employment opportunities.
“What NNPC does is create jobs. What this does is create jobs. You have an energy hub today. If you look at the average filling station and you look at the energy hub, you’ll find more people in the energy hub than you’ll find in the filling stations,” he said.
He explained that personnel would be required to support the automation, electric vehicle charging facilities and other services provided at the energy hubs.
GIK/APA