THE Federal Government has said dispensing of autogas into automobiles through selected filling stations across the country will commence by the end of September.
According to a report by The Punch, the autogas to be dispensed into automobiles and other prime movers include Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas, depending on the type of vehicle.
The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources in Abuja on Friday stated that the Committee on National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) had been assigned to ensure the effective implementation and take off of this initiative.
It would be recalled that the NGEP was inaugurated in January this year by Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum, in furtherance of the domestic gas expansion programme of the Federal Government.
The government said selected filling stations across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory had been informed, as plans to collocate autogas dispensing facilities at the outlets had reached advanced stages, noting that the NGEP would promote gas as replacement fuel and also save the nation the much-needed foreign exchange expended on imported fuels by providing alternatives to petrol, diesel and kerosene.
The Ministry said the committee had identified autogas development as a key deliverable of the NGEP.
“Consequently, plans have reached advanced stage in line with ministerial directive and support for the development of LPG, CNG and LNG collocation in NNPC owned and operated mega stations in the 36 states and the FCT,” it said.
“Under this arrangement, retail outlets will offer a full complement of gas products as transportation fuels in addition to existing white products as cheaper cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternatives.”
It added that the NNPC and mega retail outlets owners and equipment providers were fully onboard in this objective, noting that measures were in place to achieve a roll out of this programme by end of September 2020.
It was reported that the Federal Government had on Wednesday ordered the chief executive officers and their lieutenants in agencies under the petroleum ministry to convert all their official vehicles to run on autogas.
The minister said the conversion of vehicles in his ministry and agencies to run on autogas was to demonstrate to Nigerians that the government was serious with its declaration of 2020 as “the year of gas”.
Sylva said, “I have surrendered my vehicles to the NGEP (National Gas Expansion Programme) to convert all to dual fuel with use of either auto-LPG or auto-CNG.
And on that premise, I now have the moral backing to direct that all CEOs and their able lieutenants do same by converting all their official vehicles to run on autogas as a demonstration to the Nigerian people that indeed government meant it when we declared this year ‘The Year of Gas.”
