The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva conveyed a meeting between the Federal Government (FG) and Oil Marketers in the downstream sector on Monday in Abuja to perfect plans for the full deployment of autogas in filling stations.
The meeting was not only to perfect plans for the full deployment of autogas in filling stations but to also conclude plans for conversion of 200,000 commercial vehicles to run on gas this year. At the meeting, the Federal Government unveiled the 2022 Framework for the deployment of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas, popularly called autogas) in Nigeria.
Present at the meeting were senior officials of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, as well as other key players in the downstream sector.
The Minister told his guests that the Federal Government was out to ensure that it made available the alternatives required before the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol). He stressed that the development of autogas was one of such key alternatives.
Sylva also hinted that the government would be supporting the marketers with 50 per cent of the conversion kits to fast-track the process, adding that additional support as required would be given, going forward.
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He added that a lot of work has been going on and government has come to a certain point where it needs to take it further, which may not be possible without ensuring that the partners are fully on board.
In the framework, the government explained that with abundant gas reserves of about 206.53 trillion cubic feet, a population of about 200 million people, and the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, which eliminated the continuous absorption of petrol subsidy, it was now vital to deploy autogas.
It stated that its priority now was the rapid and strategic introduction of Natural Gas Vehicles as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria in line with the approved National Gas Policy.
It added, “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources was charged with the responsibility to provide autogas (LPG, CNG, LNG) as an alternative and competitive fuel for mass transportation
“CNG was selected as the fuel of choice because it holds a comparative advantage due to its ease of deployment, its comparatively lower capital requirements, commodity’s supply stability, existing in-country volumes, and local market commercial structure which relies predominantly on the naira.
“Hence a single track CNG deployment is proposed in the initial phase and other alternatives can be considered as the market attains maturity.”
In the document, three implementation options were highlighted, as the government stated that in the first option, its target was to convert one million public transport vehicles and install 1,000 refuelling centres within 36 months.
For the first 18 months it targets to achieve 500,000 conversions and 580 refuelling centres supplied by five Original Equipment Manufacturers, among other targets.
In the plan, the government targets to convert 200,000 commercial vehicles this year, including tricycles, cars, mini-buses and large buses. The cities captured in Phase 1 of the project include Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Niger, and Rivers.
Cities under Phase 2 were listed as Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Osun, Ekiti, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Cross River, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Plateau.
The cities listed under Phase 3, include Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue and Ebonyi.
The Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Clement Isong, told the minister that marketers were willing to partner with the government and expressed delight in the government’s resolve to support marketers with 50 per cent of the required conversion kits.
