The Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPDRA) has reconfirmed its support to the Federal Government’s Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI).
Gatekeepers News reports that the initiative aims to develop and finance domestic CNG vehicles for the transportation market in Nigeria, with the goal of promoting the adoption of CNG-fueled vehicles in the country.
A statement made available on Monday by PCNGI’s Programme Director/Chief Executive, Michael Oluwagbemi disclosed that the NMPDRA has granted Mobility Compressed Natural Gas a special status, which will allow it to benefit from a concessionary pricing framework for gas in the country.
This special status is part of the Gas to Commercial (GTC) initiative and will entitle Mobility CNG to Gas-Based Industry (GBI) pricing categorization for the first 5 years, with the option to renew for another 5 years as per the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
This was addressed in a letter from the Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Farouk Ahmed dated 20th April, 2024 to the Programme Director/Chief Executive of the PCNGI.
The GBI pricing of $1.57/MMBtu is set much lower than ordinary $2.42 and $2.92 for Power and Commercial buyers respectively.
The Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas led by Dr. Zacch Adedeji had initially requested for strategic gas allocation for Mobility focused Compressed Natural Gas projects, in a form of pricing concession. This milestone concession is a significant achievement of the PCNGI collaborative work with NMPDRA.
This concession is expected to spur investors confidence and commercial activities in the nascent market while promoting government policy aspirantion for the sector.
The PCNGI calls on all stakeholders in the sector to take full advantage of this concessionary pricing model for Mobility CNG, and recommit themselves to the future of a gas driven transportation sector that lowers food and energy inflation, while ensuring a cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable energy for powering the economy forward in line with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
