The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled an ambitious plan to convert 10 million Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) within the next 36 months. This announcement was made by the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, during a panel discussion titled “Energy Talk” at the ongoing ADIPEC 2023 conference and exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The minister highlighted that this initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the private sector. He explained, “Our ministry is working with the organized private sector to distribute over two million CNG conversion kits free of charge within the next nine months to promote the use of CNG as the primary fuel for vehicles nationwide. The objective is to convert 10 million vehicles from PMS to CNG in the next 36 months.”
Ekpo emphasized several key benefits of this initiative, including the creation of over 100,000 jobs for Nigerians, significant government savings resulting from reduced subsidies for PMS imports, and a reduction in carbon emissions due to the use of clean natural gas in internal combustion engines.
Furthermore, he reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating a conducive operational and fiscal environment to encourage investments in the upstream, midstream, and downstream gas sectors. He noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is actively promoting business opportunities related to Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources.
The minister highlighted various government initiatives designed to support gas-based industrialization and decarbonization efforts in partnership with the private sector. These initiatives include the Decade of Gas program, which covers upstream, midstream, and downstream activities; efforts to provide cooking gas to every household; the gas flare commercialization program; and the development of gas-to-petrochemical projects.
Ekpo also mentioned specific policy changes aimed at improving the gas pricing regime, developing non-associated gas acreages, and revising the terms of production sharing contracts. These reforms are expected to attract investments of over $20 billion into the country for the development of offshore and deep-water gas acreages.
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources is collaborating with its affiliated agencies to present these reforms to the legislative chamber for approval and eventual endorsement by the President.
