*Says Nigeria’s energy transition will be built on its own gas resources, not on imported alternatives
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Friday, commissioned four major Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure projects spanning Lagos, Abuja and Owerri, in a single-day roll-out that significantly expands the country’s clean transport infrastructure.
The projects, all delivered under the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), form part of the federal government’s accelerated response to the petroleum subsidy reform and a deliberate strategy to expand domestic gas utilisation, reduce transport costs and accelerate the country’s transition to cleaner fuels.
At Ojota, Lagos, the President flagged off the Portland Gas CNG Mother Station, a facility with a daily dispensing capacity of 96,000 standard cubic metres. The project also includes two skid trucks for onward distribution, a 54-metric-tonne Liquefied CNG storage facility, and an associated CNG Daughter Station at Kubwa, Abuja.
Also at Ojota, the President commissioned the IBILE Oil and Gas Corporation (IOGC) CNG Refuelling Station, the flagship of Lagos State’s most ambitious clean transport rollout. The station anchors a network of 15 IOGC-MDGIF refuelling stations being delivered across Lagos, sited at Ogudu, Ikota, Agege, Ojota, Oko-Oba, Ajah, Idimu, Ogolonto, Abule Egba, Badagry, Ayobo and four additional locations across the metropolis. The network is designed to provide an affordable alternative to petroleum motor spirit for millions of Lagosians, lower transport costs for commercial fleets and private vehicle owners, and significantly reduce vehicular emissions in the country’s largest urban centre.
At Jahi District, Abuja, the President commissioned the High-Capacity CNG Daughter Booster Station developed by Rolling Energy Limited in a joint venture partnership with the MDGIF. The facility is billed as the most advanced of its kind in West Africa. The station is equipped with the fastest CNG dispensers ever deployed in the country, along with processing infrastructure that includes a 1,000 standard cubic metre-per-hour CNG compressor, a 3,200 standard cubic metre cascade storage system, two CNG tube skids of 8,500 standard cubic metres each, and a 150-kilovolt-ampere CNG-powered backup generator.
Its refuelling system comprises four dispensers in a dual-nozzle configuration with a total daily sales capacity of 20,000 standard cubic metres, capable of serving 900 to 1,000 cars and tricycles, and up to 50 trucks and buses, daily. The facility also houses a mass conversion centre with eight conversion pits, using high-technology kits and Standards Organisation of Nigeria-certified cylinders, converting up to 20 cars and 25 tricycles daily.
At the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in Imo State, the President commissioned the FEMADEC CNG Daughter Station and Conversion Centre, the flagship of the nationwide 20 Universities CNG Ecosystem Initiative, delivered under the Special Palliative Relief on University Transportation (SPROUT) Programme approved by the President to cushion the effects of the petroleum subsidy reform on tertiary students and staff.
The facility comprises a 1,000 standard cubic metres per hour Integrated Refuelling Unit, a CNG storage skid, four-way dispensing units, a CNG-powered on-site generator, and a fully functional Vehicle Conversion Workshop and Training Centre. The project also includes the deployment of CNG-powered buses and tricycles for intra-university transportation, and the provision of CNG conversion kits and tricycles under the Presidential CNG Initiative for Electric Vehicles (PiCNG-EV) programme.
To further improve uptake and ease vehicle conversion for the public, the federal government, through the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), has partnered with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), Moniepoint Microfinance Bank and the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC) to offer structured consumer credit for CNG conversion. Under the Credit Access for Light and Mobility (CALM) Fund, motorists, commercial transport operators, and fleet owners can now convert their vehicles without paying the full amount upfront, with financing options backed by credit guarantees at rates as low as 9 per cent, with repayments spread over six months.
At the virtual commissioning, President Tinubu said the country’s energy transition will be built on its own gas resources, not on imported alternatives, and that the four projects together represent a turning point for clean transport in Nigeria.
”Nigeria is a gas nation. Our energy future will not be borrowed. It will be built from what we have, and every project we are commissioning today is proof that we are building it. Lagos moves the country, and when Lagos can fuel itself with our own gas, at our own prices, the whole country benefits. Abuja today receives one of the most advanced CNG facilities in West Africa. This is what our gas reform looks like when it leaves the policy paper and arrives at the pump,” the President said.
”Our students, too, must not bear the heaviest weight of the reforms we have undertaken. The SPROUT programme is our deliberate response, and FUTO today joins a national network that will, in time, change the cost of mobility on every Nigerian campus,” he added.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the projects mark a decisive step in operationalising Nigeria’s Decade of Gas agenda and underscore the federal government’s commitment to making domestic gas the backbone of the country’s energy transition.
”Nigeria sits on more than 210 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, a resource that, properly harnessed, can fuel our industries, power our homes, move our vehicles and lift millions of our people out of poverty,” the Minister said.
Minister Ekpo commended the MDGIF, Pi-CNG & EV, the financial institutions and the joint venture partners for the speed and discipline of delivery, and assured Nigerians that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will continue to enable the regulatory and fiscal environment for domestic gas investment.
The Executive Director of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, Oluwole Adama, said the day’s projects demonstrate what is possible when government, regulators, investors and technical partners unite around a shared purpose.
”These projects are clear examples of what is possible when government, regulators, investors and technical partners unite around a shared purpose. They demonstrate that real progress happens when vision is translated into action.”
He thanked the President for the enabling incentives for gas investments and for the inauguration of the MDGIF Governing Council.
He commended the National Assembly, the NMDPRA, and the Fund’s joint venture partners for their roles in delivering the projects.
