The Federal Government has revealed that the adoption of autogas, as a substitute for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), will lead to monthly savings of approximately N1.84tn for commercial vehicle operators in Nigeria.
According to a document compiled by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), a typical commercial Uber car could save N274,176 per month by utilizing autogas instead of petrol.
The document, titled “Autogas Conversion – NITT Initiative and Strategy,” was unveiled during a stakeholders’ engagement forum in Abuja. The forum focused on discussing autogas as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria.
Autogas fuel can either be Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). It is a blend of hydrocarbons that transforms from a gaseous to a liquid state when subjected to moderate pressure or cooled.
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The transport institute’s report stated that Nigeria has an estimated 12 to 20 million vehicles, with 57 percent of them being used for commercial purposes.
The report highlighted, “Taking the lowest figure of 12 million vehicles, 57 percent of this number is 6,840,000. When multiplied by the over N270,000 which a typical commercial Uber car could save monthly if run on autogas, it implies that the 6.84 million transporters could save about N1.84tn every month if they run their vehicles on autogas.”
Following the removal of petrol subsidies, stakeholders in the transport and oil sectors, including oil marketers, have been exploring ways to mitigate the high fuel costs. The removal of subsidies resulted in a significant increase in petrol prices, soaring from N198 per liter to over N500 per liter.
NITT emphasized that the deployment and utilization of autogas, championed by oil marketers, will substantially reduce motorists’ expenditure on petrol. Currently, the majority of Nigerian motorists rely on petrol as their primary fuel source.
