Nigeria Set To Receive 500 New CNG Stations by October

• The FG is set to receive its first batch of 500 CNG stations by the end of October as infrastructure expansion accelerates
• PCNGI Executive Chairman Ismael Ahmed said another 500 stations will be ordered, bringing total procurement to 1,000 units nationwide
• Ahmed said deployment will prioritise areas with high vehicle numbers and traffic, naming Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt among locations being assessed

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Federal government is on course to take delivery of 500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling stations before the end of October, according to the head of the agency overseeing the country's CNG rollout.

Ismael Ahmed, Executive Chairman of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), said the first batch of stations has already been ordered and will arrive by October.

After that delivery, the government plans to place a second order for another 500 units, bringing the total number of stations being procured to 1,000.

The latest order builds on 500 stations that were previously commissioned through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund and follows a directive from President Bola Tinubu for an additional 500 CNG refuelling points to be rolled out across the country.

How CNG stations will be deployed

Ahmed clarified that stations cannot be installed immediately upon arrival, as each requires construction, transportation, and connection before becoming operational, Punch reports

He said the government is currently profiling locations across Nigeria to identify where demand for CNG is greatest and where additional infrastructure is most needed.

He said deployment decisions will be guided by economic realities rather than political considerations, including vehicle volume and traffic levels in a given area.

Ahmed said:

"It is not a political decision; it is an economic decision. So you can't just say, 'Go and put it in this village when there are no cars there.' So you have to check the traffic, the cars; these are things to be taken into consideration."

Cities being assessed for deployment include Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Zamfara, Borno, Enugu, Anambra and Lafia.

Abuja leads in operational CNG stations

Ahmed said Abuja currently has the highest concentration of CNG stations in the country, with 26 operational outlets.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited runs about four of those, while Nipco operates roughly three.

Despite that lead, he acknowledged that securing land remains a significant obstacle to further expansion within the Federal Capital Territory.

He said:

"The problem with Abuja is the land that will accommodate the station. So many people are interested in opening gas stations, but getting the land is a problem."

FG licenses 81 new firms to sell fuel priced at N380

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria has licensed 81 companies to retail compressed natural gas (CNG), up from roughly four previously, as the federal government pushes to broaden access to the fuel alternative across the country.

CNG is currently priced at N380 per standard cubic metre (SCM) for cars and passenger buses, and N450 per SCM for heavy-duty vehicles and lorries.

Investment in filling stations, mobile refuelling units, and gas production facilities