The federal government has been urged to provide more support for the development of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure in Nigeria, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on costly petroleum products.
This was disclosed at the launch of CNG Auto Conversion and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant by AX Gas, held in Lagos to promote the use of alternative fuels.
Speaking, CEO of AX Gas, Andre Bassey stated that the company is working closely with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), a government-backed programme aimed at promoting the use of CNG as a cheaper alternative to petrol.
According to him, the PCNGI provides licenses and conversion kits to authorised facilities like AX Gas, enabling them to offer affordable CNG solutions to vehicle owners, adding that services for commercial vehicles are at no cost.
He, however, urged the government to create an enabling environment for daughter stations to be built across the country where people can refill when they run out of CNG easily.
Speaking on the people’s fear of explosion using CNG, Bassey noted that negligence were the reasons for the explosions that were earlier reported.
“Those incidents that happen, upon investigation especially from the PCNGI, we find out that some people try to cut corners. The thickness of the cylinder to be used for this purpose is supposed to weigh 250 bar, but the person used a normal cylinder for cooking gas. What that means is this, the cooking gas you use is 30 bar and that’s how much gas the cooking gas can take, then somebody now goes to put 250 bar into the same cylinder that only takes 30 bar, so your guess is as good as mine.
“There’s a learning center and we keep educating people to go to a proper and licensed conversion center where they are insuranced and have already been licensed by PCNGI to operate, just like ours, to avoid these issues.”
He added, “One of the challenges we face and where we want the government to really support us is in the area of the daughter stations, where you can refill your CNG, just like a petrol station where you can refill when you run out of your CNG, so we are trying to build those infrastructures.”
Bassey urged Nigerians to key into the use of CNG, saying it is an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum, adding that AX Gas is poised to make a significant impact on Nigeria’s energy landscape.
On his part, DG, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Oluwemimo Osanipin noted that the initiative by the AX Gas exemplifies the innovative thinking and industrial collaboration necessary to achieve a clean transportation.
He urged the fostering of an ecosystem that promotes investments in clean energy infrastructure, innovations in automotive design and the widespread adoption of alternative fuel technologies.
“The introduction of LPG and CNG technologies into the automotive industry marks a pivotal step towards reducing carbon emissions, fostering energy security and enhancing the economic prosperity of our nation.”
