As Nigeria continues to battle with massive unemployment and other challenges, there are indications that the Autogas and AutoCNG initiative will create over 500,000 jobs, thus assisting the nation to come out of its current recession, Nature News gathered.
The marketing manager, Flash Gas Limited, Mr Kayode Oluwadare, said: “According to the Chairman, National Gas Expansion Programme, Dr Mohamed Ibrahim, 500,000 new jobs will be created through the conversion of vehicles in the coming months.
“In addition, the reduction of transportation cost occasioned by cheaper fuel will reduce the proportion of disposable income that is expended on energy consumption. This will improve the living condition of the people and the economy at large.
“With a proven natural gas reserve of over 200 trillion standard cubic feet, Nigeria has a huge gas supply line to ensure the long-term sustainability of the programme. The country’s natural gas reserves is almost three times its crude oil reserves and additional gas reserves will be discovered with improving technology and investment. I think we have enough gas to drive the Autogas/ AutoCNG scheme for the next five decades.”
Oluwadare, who urged stakeholders and the public to shift to Autogas and AutoCNG as they are cheaper, cleaner and efficient transportation fuel than petrol and diesel, said: “The launch of Nigeria’s Autogas/ AutoCNG scheme is a welcome development because it is coming at a period that Nigeria is transitioning into the utilisation of unconventional energy sources in the transport sector, just like the rest of the world.
“Also, Autogas and AutoCNG are cheaper, cleaner and more efficient transportation fuel when compared to petrol and diesel. The scheme will address the issues surrounding the upward trends in the pump price of PMS, which has become a major talking point in recent weeks.
“At its full implementation in the coming months, the Autogas/AutoCNG scheme will facilitate the conversion of at least one million vehicles free. This will ultimately enhance the acceptability of Autogas/ AutoCNG as the transportation fuel of choice by all classes of people in Nigeria.
“The Federal Government has shown significant commitment towards ensuring the overall success of the scheme under the National Gas Expansion Programme. I am convinced that the objectives of the programme will be achieved and Nigerians will be better for it.
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“The Autogas/AutoCNG scheme will undoubtedly have a great impact on the gas sector and Nigeria’s economy as a whole. The scheme creates an additional avenue for the utilisation of gas in an economy that is in dire need of new investments.
“The influx of investment into the Autogas/ AutoCNG space will create employment opportunities in the areas of engineering, installations, maintenance, operations, marketing and safety.
“Flash Gas Limited is an integrated Gas Company with activities cutting across the LPG and CNG value chains. We have a 50 metric tonnes LPG bottling plant at our Ojota station which is a one-stop facility for cooking gas retailers and end-users.
“In addition, our four Metric Tonnes Autogas service station is a prototype facility and one of the first few Autogas facilities in Nigeria.
“In the medium term, we intend to have multi-fuel system of mobile Autogas and AutoCNG stations with a state-of-the-art conversion centre as a complimentary service. We are an active player in the gas sector and we are at the vanguard of gas utilization in Nigeria.”
He added: “We have an expansive distribution and supply network in getting cooking gas to our end users. With our Gas-On-The-Go logistics service, we are able to deliver cooking gas to the doorsteps of our end users with the aid of a Mobile Application through which orders can be placed with payment options.”