NIPCO PLC said it has invested over N100bn to lay pipelines for easy access to compressed natural gas from existing major trunks across its operating states and to build CNG stations across the country.
The Assistant General Manager of Corporate Affairs, NIPCO Plc, Lawal Taofeek, in an exclusive interview with The PRIMANEWS on Wednesday, said the company started CNG business in Edo in 2009.
“We have invested well over N100bn in pipelines laying to ease access to gas from existing major trunks across our operating states, while inaugurating CNG stations, the most recent being the one in Kubwa, Abuja.
“We have also converted over 7,000 vehicles to run on gas at our kits fitment workshops in all our operating stations,” he stated.
According to Taofeek, NIPCO has three CNG “mother stations” in Ibafo, Benin and Oron, to service “daughter stations” in their neighbouring states.
He explained that a mother station is like a depot where cascades can be loaded to service daughter stations.
The spokesperson confirmed that NIPCO received N25bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Gas Expansion Intervention Programme, saying the money was being “expended on improving and inaugurating more CNG infrastructure like pipeline network, stations construction, and improvement in manpower, to make them meet industry standard.”
He emphasised, “Our efforts in the CNG realm made NNPC sign a partnership agreement with our company, NIPCO Gas Ltd to build 35 stations in the first quarter of 2024, to provide fuel alternatives to motorists, following the removal of subsidy on petrol.”
