The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that Nigeria’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion capacity was boosted by over 2,500 per cent in 2024.
This was disclosed by the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed, while he was speaking at the inaugural Petroleum Industry Stakeholders’ Forum, organised by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on Thursday in Abuja.
Ahmed said that the NMDPRA provided 186 new conversion centres to boost the county’s conversion capacity.
He noted that the boost was stimulated by the current administration’s Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), adding that the initiative has raised the Nigerian Gas Vehicles population to about 50,000 vehicles and trucks.
“The NMDPRA will continue to collaborate with the PCNGI to ensure deployment of CNG infrastructure in major cities of Lagos and Abuja, up to 100,000 conversions, while collaborating with states to develop Nigeria Gas Vehicles (NGVs) in other areas.
“The development of CNG as a viable alternative to Petrol has been incentivised.
“These conversions alongside new buys have raised the Nigerian Gas Vehicles population to an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 vehicles and trucks, and it continues to grow daily.
“With over 400 million dollars attracted for investment in 86 and 65 new daughters and mother stations under construction respectively, Nigeria refuelling capacity has therefore risen from 20 to 56,” he said.
Ahmed said that the agency, in collaboration with PCNGI and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is set to inaugurate the NGV Monitoring System this year.
He also noted that the NMDPRA is collaborating with the SON, the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), and the National Institute of Transportation Technology (NITT) “in ensuring that our mobility CNG growth is achieved in a safe and sustainable manner.”
Challenges
However, the CEO noted that there are challenges impacting the spread of CNG in Nigeria. He listed the challenges to include the establishment and operation of petroleum handling facilities without proper licensing, permits, and authorisations.
He listed other challenges including poor collaborations for Open/third-party access to facilities and lack of cooperation of some operators for effective regulatory oversight, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provisions.
“We implore the industry to adhere to all regulatory requirements, especially as they relate to safety, efficiency, best practices, sustainability, consumer protection, and community participation.
“As we progress into 2025, the NMDPRA will continue to consolidate on its successes for enhanced regulatory oversight.
“This will include the upgrade of our laboratories for enhanced product quality analysis and referencing, inter-agency collaborations, automation, and sustainability in the industry,” Ahmed said.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), has pledged to address the infrastructure gap hindering the spread of CNG vehicles among Nigerians.
As part of efforts to encourage the use of CNG vehicles, the government waived import tariffs on CNG equipment. The same was done for Liquified Petroleum Gas (cooking gas).
