Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has tasked Nigerians to tap into over 9,000 licensed filling stations across the country that are fit for the co-location of facilities that dispense autogas fuel.
Recall that the federal government has been trying to get Nigerians to tap into autogas, a need that has been accelerated by the removal of fuel subsidies, which saw petrol pump price jump to N500 per litre.
The government, through the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, issued this at the end of the stakeholders’ engagement forum on the provision of technical manpower and facility for the development and promotion of autogas as a transportation fuel in Nigeria.
The conference, with the theme, Autogas as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria, showed that there was a need for alternative options for transportation fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and Compressed Natural Gas known as autogas, which should become widely used and accepted as an alternative automotive fuel.
The communique stated that Nigeria’s gas reserves were about 209 trillion cubic feet, adding that gas production was between 8.15 – 8.35 billion standard cubic feet/day, which was more than enough for the nation.
The NITT said, “There are over 9,000 licensed retail outlets classified fit-for-purpose for co-location of autogas fuel nationwide.
“There are 50 conversion centres currently upgrading for mass conversion and training of technicians in the country. Auto assemblers are already producing fit-for-purpose dual-fuel vehicles in the country.
“The Nigeria Gas Expansion Programme had held extensive multi-sectoral stakeholder engagement and secured impressive programme support and buy-in. The government supports deploying over one million conversion kits for trucks and smaller vehicles.”
It said the government was supporting the optimal availability of all autogas fuel streams and that adopting autogas technology was good for Nigeria in the short and long term.
The communique stated that the forum recommended that the Federal Ministry of Transportation collaborate with relevant stakeholders and the private sector to research, develop, and deploy autogas fuel in Nigeria.
It said the federal government should provide incentives to motorists, especially in the public transport and road freights sub-sectors, for the conversion kits acquisition as a way of cushioning fuel subsidy removal.
