CEM REPORT, ENERGY | The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said it had concluded plans to dispense Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) alongside fuel at its filling stations across the country.
According to the IPMAN president, Chinedu Okoronkwo, its members have started signing up to dispense gas at their stations, as well as the collocation of gas in their outlets.
“Some of my members have started signing up to dispense gas at their stations, as well as the collocation of gas in their outlets. One of the major independent marketers has given over 500 of his trailers for conversion to transport gas to filling stations.
“There are some new tankers too, over 300 of them have also indicated interest in having CNG trucks. These trucks are to serve filling stations that would be dispensing gas to vehicles.
“What we will do is collocate the gas dispensing plants in a plug-and-play model with existing filling stations. That is the beauty of it and that is why IPMAN is very keen on this project because there is no local government or ward in Nigeria today that you won’t see my members.
“We control over 80% of the downstream oil sector. So, it is an advantage for us. For if you are to build new gas or CNG stations, it will take a huge cost. But this collocation model has helped to reduce the exposure in terms of building new stations.”
In April 2023, IPMAN wrote to the Finance Ministry to ask that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) be instructed to disburse the N250 billion intervention cash for the National Gas Expansion Program (NGEP)’s execution.
IPMAN said the money will be used to grant commercial and private vehicle owners access to loans to pay for the purchase of natural gas conversion kits from the Gas Expansion Fund.
Back then, IPMAN claimed to have collaborated with Gas Analytics & Solutions Limited to co-locate natural gas dispensers on their network of more than 30,000 filling stations throughout Nigeria.
IPMAN claims that the partnership offers the most practical and quick way to set up the infrastructure required to facilitate a swift nationwide roll-out of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) for automobiles.
Also, the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) in a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Sai it has decided to work toward supplying functional mass transit buses that can run on both compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel interchangeably.
According to the association’s Chairman, Dame Winifred Akpani, it intends to commence with 50 to 100 buses in the near future.
