- The Federal Government has distributed 1,200 CNG conversion kits to five states in Nigeria, to achieve 18,000 conversions by year-end
- Nigeria’s transition to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) aims to cut costly petrol and diesel subsidies
- Over 130 conversion centres currently operational with plans to expand to 250 by year-end
In a major step towards reducing Nigeria's reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the Federal Government has provided 1,200 conversion kits to five states across the country.
This announcement was made by Engineer Michael Oluwagbemi, Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI), on Saturday, September 14, in Abuja.
Oluwagbemi projects 18,000 CNG conversions by 2024
“We are expecting additional 12,000 kits in the next 30 days, which I believe will enable us to be able to get 18,000 conversions done by the end of this year, which will be on track to achieve the 21,000 target,” Oluwagbemi stated.
According to Oluwagbemi, Nigeria's continued dependence on petrol and diesel has become excessively expensive, with annual subsidies amounting to $6 to $8 billion.
Oluwagbemi added “The worrying thing is that the bulk of this money is borrowed.”
“In terms of conversion centres, when we started out there were only seven conversion centres in Nigeria, our target initially was to have 100 of them set up this year, but I’m pleased to announce to you that today we have over 130 conversion centres in the country as a result of our work.
Nigeria aims for 150,000 CNG conversion centres in 2025
“I think before the end of the year we will have additional 120 to take us to 250 before the end of this year. Every day we have business people and entrepreneurs coming to us, asking us for templates and support in terms of how and what we should do, where we should place these conversion centres, and we continue to work with them,” Oluwagbemi stated.
He mentioned that the goal was to have at least 18,000 vehicles operating on CNG by year-end, with an additional 250,000 conversion kits anticipated in the country by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
“We expect additional 100,000 to 250,000 kits before the end of first quarter next year. That will then enable us hit our goal of 150,000 directly enabled conversions next year,” Engineer Michael Oluwagbemi, Chief Executive Officer of the P-CNGI stated.
NNPC shifts its focus to CNG, reduces interest in Dangote refinery
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has confirmed that it has scaled back its interest in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 20% to 7.2%, reallocating resources to invest in compressed natural gas (CNG).
According to the report, the NNPC said CNG is a clean and cheaper alternative energy, adding that switching to CNG will save Nigerians money.