By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in collaboration with FEMADEC Energy Limited is set to provide Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure for 20 university campuses across the country.
The infrastructure is targeted at ultimately ensuring that buses and other vehicles are powered by gas.
The Authority Chief Executive (ACE) of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, while speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja, emphasized that his Agency will provide the enabling environment and support for the projects towards actualizing the aspirations of the Federal Government on adopting gas as the transition fuel.
The Executive Director of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), Mansur Kuliya, who was also present at the signing, said that the Fund was established by section 52 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 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, thereby encouraging private investments in midstream and downstream gas projects and reducing or eliminating gas flaring in Nigeria.
Kuliya added that that initiative was in line with the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI). He explained that the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Femadec Energy Limited will accelerate the deployment of CNG infrastructure as a special palliative to reduce transportation costs for tertiary institutions and to introduce clean energy towards the net zero agenda.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FEMADEC Energy Limited, Fola Akinnola, also revealed that as a result of the recent subsidy removal in the country that necessitated changing the policy from traditional fossil fuel, which includes petrol and diesel, to gas, the Company proposed and agreed with the 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.
In his own words, “the objective is to lessen the transportation costs for the students and lecturers, on one hand, and also reduce carbon emissions in order to meet the Federal Government’s net zero emissions target and bring awareness to students in terms of gas technology and its various uses.
“The project would target 20 Universities in the initial phase, each to be provided with 10 CNG-fueled buses, CNG or LCNG refueling units and storage, gas generator, and a conversion center.”