By Ayomide Otitoju
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and NIPCO Gas Limited have inaugurated twelve Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in Nigeria, marking a significant step in the country’s drive towards cleaner and more affordable energy. The stations were commissioned by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in Abuja and Lagos State on Thursday.
The newly commissioned CNG stations in Abuja are strategically located at Airport Road, Kubwa, Gaduwa, Olusegun Obasanjo Way Zone 1, Dei-Dei Junction, Duste-Bwari Road, and Gwagwalada. In Lagos State, the stations can be found at Lateef Jakande, Agidingbi, Agege Motor Road, Mushin, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Sangotedo, Eti-Osa LGA, and Mobile Road, Apapa.
These stations feature advanced reciprocating and hydraulic booster compressors, providing a dispensing pressure of 200 bar of CNG to vehicles, ensuring efficiency and reliability.
President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) in August 2023. This initiative, as stated by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, aims to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal by reducing energy costs for Nigerians.
Following this approval, NNPC Ltd partnered with NIPCO Gas Limited to develop the CNG stations. At the commissioning event in Abuja, Minister Ekpo highlighted the federal government’s commitment to the CNG project, describing the day as historic for Nigeria.
“Today is a great day in the history of Nigeria. And today is the second commissioning, after the one that I did in Lagos. It is going to be done simultaneously in twelve other stations within Nigeria and Lagos,” Ekpo remarked. “We demonstrate the willingness and determination of the federal government to drive the CNG project. And of course, as the president said, the gas for prosperity renewable program is in progress.”
Ekpo commended NNPC for fulfilling its mandate to ensure the availability of CNG for Nigerians, stating, “It is irreversible. We are talking about CNG. We are going into CNG. Are you sure we will be able to sustain it? From the daily production in the country currently, we are only using three per cent. That goes a long way to tell you that irrespective of the demand, we will meet the target, and of course, the NNPC Ltd and other investors are not relenting in making sure that they go into a new development of gas.”
Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, noted that CNG is supplied to the stations in Abuja and Lagos via virtual transportation from mother stations in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, and Ibafo, Ogun State. He mentioned that the Abuja station would soon connect to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, becoming a mother CNG station.
“The stations’ power needs are met by gas-driven generators, reducing carbon emissions. The CNG station on Airport Road, Abuja includes a five-bay CNG vehicle conversion workshop capable of converting five to six vehicles daily,” Kyari explained.
Together, the Abuja and Lagos stations have a combined dispensing capacity of over six million standard cubic feet (MMSCF) of CNG per day, serving approximately 15,000 vehicles daily. This ensures continuous, reliable, affordable, and safe CNG supplies to motorists across various regions.
“We are providing cheaper and cleaner fuel, and we are also utilizing the free resources that God has made available to our country, which we have not utilized for a long time. And this will not happen until we have a focus. I want to thank Mr President for giving us the push that this is possible and we are seeing it happen. It is being rolled out across the country and we are seeing the benefits. People are happy; it is a cleaner and cheaper fuel and it is accessible,” Kyari added.
Huub Stokman, Managing Director of NNPC Retail, described the commissioning of the 12 CNG retail stations in Abuja and Lagos as a significant milestone for NNPC Ltd. “CNG will be about 40 per cent cheaper than petrol in Nigeria. Today’s event is the first step and I can confirm that in the next six weeks, six more sites will be launched in Lagos. The NNPC retail is very proud to be part of this journey,” Stokman said.
The new CNG stations are part of a broader initiative to construct six CNG model stations across Nigeria by December, with more stations under construction by NNPC Gas Marketing Ltd (NGML) and NIPCO Gas JV under presidential directives.
