The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC Ltd.), says the drive to bring Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) closer to Nigerians has commenced and is irreversible.
Malam Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, said in addition to the massive deployment of CNG stations nationwide, the company and its partners would also build three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) stations in Ajaokuta.
Kyari said this on Thursday during the simultaneous commissioning of 12 CNG stations in Abuja and Lagos by Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas).
“There is simply no way to turn back on delivering CNG for all Nigerians. It is the right thing to do. Is it late? Yes, but we will make progress.
“We will cover the gap in order to ensure that the volatility we see with Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) does not apply to gas,” Kyari said.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for providing the needed support to drive domestic gas utilisation aimed at delivering cleaner and cheaper sources of energy to Nigerians.
In his remarks, the Managing Director, NNPC Retail Limited, Mr Huub Stokman, said the NNPC Retail planned to set up over 100 CNG sites, including 16 NNPC Gas Marketing and NIPCO Gas JV sites in the next year.
“CNG provides Nigeria with affordable alternatives to existing available fuel products. It will be about 40 per cent cheaper than petrol in Nigeria and with continued investments, it will become a significant part of our energy mix,” Stokman added.
The Chairman of the NNPC Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, said increased CNG adoption would foster economic benefits by reducing fuel costs for consumers and businesses alike.
The NNPC Ltd. has taken the lead in the deployment of Auto-CNG Stations across Nigeria sequel to the removal of fuel subsidy and the declaration of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiatives.
Already, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited, a subsidiary of NNPC Limited, in partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited has developed an Auto-CNG rollout plan for the construction of 35 CNG stations across the country. (NAN)
