FG secures discounted CNG prices from NMPDRA

The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) says it has secured a concessionary gas pricing for mobility compressed natural gas (CNG) from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to a statement on Tuesday by Michael Oluwagbemi, PCNGI programme director and chief executive officer (CEO), the NMDPRA disclosed this in a letter dated April 20 and sent by Farouk Ahmed, its CEO.

PCNGI said NMPDRA has designated mobility CNG as a special status, which will serve as a subset of gas-to-commercial (GTC).

Oluwagbemi said this will grant access for CNG to gas-based industry (GBI) pricing categorisation for an initial period of five years, and renewable for another five years, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. 

According to the statement, the GBI pricing of $1.57 per one million British thermal units (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 Zacch Adedeji had initially requested for strategic gas allocation for Mobility focused Compressed Natural Gas projects, in a form of pricing concession,” the PCNGI said.

“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 aspirations 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.”

The initiative said NMPDRA reiterated its commitment to supporting the efforts of the federal government through the PCNGI, aimed at managing, financing and developing domestic CNG vehicles for Nigeria’s transportation market.