• Promises 50% infrastructural support to oil marketers
The Federal Government on Monday met with oil marketers in the downstream sector to perfect plans for the full deployment of autogas in filling stations and the conversion of 200,000 commercial vehicles to run on gas this year.
At the meeting, which was convened in Abuja by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, the government unveiled the 2022 Framework for the deployment of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas, popularly called autogas) in Nigeria.
Senior officials of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot And Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, as well as other key players in the downstream sector attended the meeting.
Sylva told his guests that the government was out to ensure that it made available the alternatives required before the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), stressing that the deployment of autogas was one of such key alternatives.
He also stated that the government would be supporting them with 50 per cent of the conversion kits to fast-track the process, adding that additional support as required would be given, going forward.
“We said we must provide alternative fuel and the alternative that we concluded on was the autogas alternative. To provide it for our people,” he stated.
