In 6 months, 9000 autogas filling stations will open, reports FG The National... has finalized preparations for the Federal Government to roll out 9000 autogas filling stations from the existing 10,000 retail outlets around the nation.

Under the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), the Federal Government has decided to roll out 9000 autogas filling stations from the current 10,000 retail outlets across the nation during the next six months. Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, the NGEP's chairman, said the organization has made significant progress in reviving the economy by utilizing the nation's gas resources, despite the frustration of the subsidy cabals and some stakeholders who claimed the gas expansion program would never succeed.

He spoke as the N250 billion NGEP money, which was subject to strict restrictions, had been sitting idle at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the previous four years. Ibrahim gave a speech in Lagos at the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association's (NAJA) annual training workshop on the topic of "Fuel Subsidy Removal: Autogas/Electric Vehicles as Alternatives".

The NGEP was designed to act as a catalyst for enhancing the value of Nigeria's enormous natural gas reserves. Following the federal government's withdrawal of fuel subsidies, the workshop's chairman argued that gas was now less expensive and better for the environment for automobiles. He claimed that the gas expansion program would help the Tinubu-led administration fulfill its pledge to create 100 million jobs. He also predicted that, despite opposition from some stakeholders, the multi-fuel program, which allows car owners to fill up with both conventional premium motor spirit and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG), would gain traction within the next six months.

He said that it would require more than 5 million conversion kits to convert 30 million internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to CNG or LNG, which would result in 12.5 million new employment. Autogas has the ability, he said, "to really reflate the economy if it is properly done."

"Under our NGEP program, we have what we call the multi-fuel scheme, whereby we do not intend to close down the current gasoline stations that we have in the country—about 10,000 of them—and, as I said earlier, we have conducted an audit and found that 9000 of the 10,000 qualify for a retrofit to become multi-fuel.

As a result, when you pull into a filling station—of which there are already a few in the system—you will find dispensers for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, as well as dispensers with a cryogenic tower that will allow you to access LNG, a dispensing pump for compressed natural gas, and a charging station for electric vehicles.