CNG: FG secures deal for extra 20mscf supply

The Federal Government has announced that it has secured a deal with gas companies to provide an additional 20 million standard cubic feet of gas to help meet the rising demand for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) among Nigerian vehicle owners.

This move is part of a wider plan to promote the use of CNG as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol.

The government aims to convert between 125,000 and 200,000 vehicles to run on CNG before the end of 2025.

At the official unveiling of the Mobility CNG Supply Framework in Abuja, the Programme Director and Chief Executive of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi, shared the broader vision of the initiative.

According to him, “The target is to have one million CNG-powered vehicles on Nigerian roads by 2027.”

He added that the federal government, in collaboration with private sector partners, is also accelerating the rollout of CNG refueling stations across the country to support this transition. According to him, “We are looking to have at least 125,000 to 200,000 vehicles on the road in addition to the one we already have running on CNG this year. We want to be on pace for one million by the end of 2027.

“If we get closer to 250,000 or 300,000 total CNG vehicle count this year, at the end of this year, we’ll have done a lot of good work. Of course, this is an estimate.”

Oluwagbemi, who noted that the private sector probably converts about twice, if not three times the number of vehicles that the PCNGI converts, noted that the government was very eager to incentivize the private sector to do the work.

“The private sector has the biggest share of the work, but we are always there to create an enabling environment, providing incentives, continue to encourage them with the right kind of targeted incentives like this concessionary gas pricing, and deliver to the Nigerian people, a more secure energy future leveraging gas.”