August 3, 2023. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has partnered with NIPCO Gas Limited to construct 35 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across the country.
Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC’s spokesperson, said the partnership aims to provide cheaper alternative fuel to motorists in Nigeria in compliance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive.
“This landmark collaboration aims to expand our CNG infrastructure, improve access to CNG, and accelerate the adoption of cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel for buses, cars, and Keke NAPEP, which will significantly reduce the cost of transportation and engender sustainable national economic growth.”
Muhammad said under the NNPC-NIPCO strategic partnership, 35 state-of-the-art CNG stations will be constructed nationwide, including three mother stations.
The NNPC spokesperson said the project would be rolled out in phases. “Once fully operational, the stations can service over 200,000 vehicles daily, thereby significantly reducing the cost of automobile fuel for Nigerians and the cost of transportation,” he said.
“The first phase, comprising 21 CNG stations, will support intra-city transportation and be ready by the first quarter of 2024; while the second phase, comprising 35 CNG stations, will support inter-city transformation 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.”
“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.”
According to the statement, NIPCO Gas Limited is currently operating 14 CNG stations across Nigeria and has converted over 7,000 vehicles to run on CNG.
On Tuesday, in a nationwide broadcast, President Tinubu said his administration has made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3,000 units of 20-seater buses powered by natural gas.
