By Femi Akinola
In light of the current petrol scarcity across the country and increase in petrol prices, switching to compressed natural gas (CNG) is the affordable alternative because it will not only save money being spent on fuel but put a stop to fleecing of car owners by petroleum marketers including petrol stations attendants and their managers.
Another advantage of conversion of cars to CNG is that every car owners, commercial bus operators and owners of vehicles in the haulage industry will be contributing to a more sustainable environment.
This month makes it a year when the current government of President Bola Tinubu, on his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, removed oil subsidy. This resulted in many Nigerians, especially low income earners parking their cars and resorting to public transport. This was because the pump price of petrol at filling stations jumped from below N200 to over N600 per litre.
The exponential effect of this government policy are numerous. There was inflationary pressure that reduced the purchasing powers of the people. Many are faced with the struggle to put food on their tables and take care of other necessities in most homes.
However, in trying to mitigate the effects of the removal of the oil subsidy, Tinubu announced CNG as alternative for fuel.
This is in line with the global policy and drive for end to fossil fuels. With this, the present administration has adopted gas as Nigeria’s transition fuel amid calls for a shift from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. The president has since put different initiatives in place to make gas available to all Nigerian car owners.
Last week, the government announced its readiness to deploy CNG buses and tricycles and set a vision to get a minimum of one million natural gas propelled vehicles on Nigerian roads by 2027.
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The government is convinced that this will mark a major energy transition in the country’s transportation industry.
Compressed natural gas burns cleaner than petrol. CNG also will ensure less engine wear and potentially longer engine life. Experts note that gas will not contaminate engine oil and that will give the engine good lubrication.
Presumably, this was the reason behind marketers of petroleum products converting their diesel trucks to CNG. It is also possibly the main reason behind government option for mass compressed natural gas vehicles and tricycles scheduled for inauguration later this month.
A mechanical engineer, Sam Olubode, noted that the use of CNG would extend the life of the engine with very low carbon and result in less engine wear. He said gas is a cleaner fuel compared to petrol. ”CNG burns cleaner than petrol and potentially longer engine life,” Olubode declared.
He stated that the conversion enables bi-fuel. That is, converting a petrol car to a bi-fuel system, which can run on both petrol and CNG, which offers versatility and flexibility. ”With bio-fuel, a car owner have the option to switch between petrol and CNG based on availability, cost, or personal preference, providing the car owner with more control over his fuel expenses and environmental impact,” he noted.
Compressed natural gas produces fewer emissions compared to petrol, making it a more environmentally friendly option. Apart from the cost of conversion and other concerns, one major hindrance to the adoption of CNG in Nigeria’s transport sector is the scarcity of CNG stations.
Investigations revealed that car owners in the country are keen to have their cars converted from petrol to CNG but non-availability of CNG refilling stations such as that of petrol stations that dotted nooks and crannies of cities and small towns across the country give them serious concern. But the Tinubu led administration has promised that car owner’s worry over conversion of their vehicles from petrol to CNG has been addressed.
Already, the government has engaged in public-private collaboration to solve auto CNG infrastructure nationwide. For example, NIPCO Gas and BOVAS are involved in offering refilling services for the CNG vehicles and also serving as conversion centres. NIPCO will set up 32 stations nationwide to offer the services.
BOVAS will also set up eight stations in Ibadan, two each in Ekiti, Abuja and four in Ilorin.
Others are MRS and PCNGI that collaborated with the Nigeria Standard Organisatio (SON), and Nigeria Automotive Design and Development Council, and they will deliver 80 Natural Gas Vehicle Conversion and Associated Appliances Standards for the country.
