Oil marketers advocate for natural gas as alternative to petrol

Oil marketers in the country have asked the Federal Government to approve the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), saying that it’s 400 percent cheaper than  Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.

Recall that the removal of petrol subsidy has spiked PMS from N198/litre to an average of  N540/litre across the country, a development that has caused the prices of goods and services to go up significantly.

Since then, oil marketers have been making efforts to provide an alternative to petrol, as they told our correspondent that the switch from PMS to CNG would help in addressing the high cost currently being spent by Nigerians on fuel.

“What we are saying is that by the time CNG is deployed, it will take off at least 400 per cent of what we are paying for fuel now,” the National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Okonkwo, stated.

He added, “And if you check this 400 per cent, it means that the cost of CNG that will deliver what one litre of petrol is going to deliver, should be less than N110 anywhere in Nigeria, whereas PMS is sold at over N540//litre.

That is what we are saying, and this is based on the current open market exchange rate, because we are not using the former official rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria, rather we are using the parallel market calculation. So floating the forex does not affect our calculations.”

On whether marketers had met with the new government on the essence of deploying CNG, Okonkwo told our correspondent that IPMAN, as well as other oil dealers had engaged the current administration on this.

He said, “We are talking with them. Government is a continuum. We are still talking with this new government and we hope the meeting between them and labour will yield desired results.

“You know part of their (labour) demand is that the government should include CNG into the energy mix. Once that is given and followed, it will give us a better trajectory.”

On June 19, 2023, the Federal Government said it had set up a steering committee to consider the various demands presented by the organised labour centres, among which include the conversion of vehicles to run on CNG. The steering committee is to produce a workable framework before August 14, 2023.

The Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Special Duties and Strategy, Dele Alake and Presidents of the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union of Nigeria, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo, respectively, disclosed this to journalists in separate briefings after a meeting at the State House, Abuja.