From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in collaboration with FEMADEC Energy Limited set to provide Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure in 20 university campuses across the country, which will ultimately ensure buses and other vehicles are powered by gas.
The move has been commended in various quarters as the high cost of petrol keeps jolting commuters and driving up the cost of goods across the country.
Speaking at the signing ceremony between NMDPRA and FEMADEC Energy Limited in Abuja, the Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Farouk Ahmed, emphasized that his agency will provide the enabling environment and support for the projects towards actualising the aspirations of the Federal Government of adopting gas as the transition fuel.
On his part, the Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), Mansur Kuliya, said the Fund was established by section 52 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA) as a Federal corporate body to manage the Funds and provide equity investments of Government-owned participating or shareholder interests in infrastructure related to midstream and downstream gas operations with the objective of increasing the domestic consumption of natural gas, encouraging private investments in midstream and downstream gas projects and reducing or eliminating gas flaring in Nigeria.
He added that that initiative was in line with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI).
Kuliya explained that the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Femadec Energy Limited will accelerate the deployment of compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure as a special palliative to lessen transportation cost for tertiary institutions and to introduce clean energy towards net zero agenda.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of FEMADEC Energy Limited, Fola Akinnola, revealed that due the recent subsidy removal in the country which necessitated changing the policy from traditional fossil fuel (petrol and diesel) to gas, the company proposed and agreed with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) on a strategy that involves the adoption of CNG-fuelled vehicles and the provision of relevant CNG infrastructure including setting up of autogas conversion centers.
“The objective is to lessen the transportation costs for the students and lecturers, on the one hand, reduce carbon emissions to meet the Federal Government net zero emissions target, and bring awareness to students in terms of gas technology and its various uses. He added that the project would target 20 Universities in the initial phase, each to be provided with 10 CNG-fuelled buses, CNG or LCNG refueling units and storage, gas generator, and a conversion center”, he said.