By Gabriel Agbeja
An expert has said that a 65-litre water-capacity cylinder of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which costs N3,500 to fill, will take a car from Abuja to Kaduna, a distance of about 191km.
Mr Mas`ud Ya`u, an Engineer and Manager of ABG Conversion Centre, Dawaki, one of the Federal Government’s accredited CNG conversion centres in the Federal Capital Territory, disclosed this to journalists.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Ya’u spoke when the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGi) undertook an inspection tour and distribution of CNG conversion kits to six centres in Abuja
In an interview with newsmen after the inspection of his center, Ya’u said: “CNG is safe, as the gas tank is fire and bulletproof, and the thickness of the tank is between 15mm and 20mm.
“65 liters water capacity of CNG will cover 170km to 200km distance, which means it can conveniently take you from Abuja to Kaduna.
“To fill CNG of 65 litres water capacity will cost N3,500,” he said
NAN reports that the driving distance between Abuja and Kaduna is 191km, which takes approximately two hours and 30 minutes.
NAN also reports that a car using petrol will use approximately 20 litres of PMS to cover the same distance, costing N17,940 at the official pump price of N897 in FCT.
Ya’u said CNG also improved engine performance and extended its longevity
According to the Engineer, before conversion, if it takes three months to service a car, after conversion, it will extend to five months before servicing without affecting the oil viscosity.
Ya’u said the CNG conversion process is a division of labour and they usually convert about four cars in a day at the centre.
“The process involves installing the kits in the engine with gas cylinders in the vehicle’s trunk. We also conduct detailed inspections to determine if the car is standard enough for conversion,” he said.
At Mijo Gas Auto, another conversion centre in FCT, the head of the centre, Mr Gaurav Goyal, described CNG as very safe and clean.
“We want every Nigerian to go green. CNG is a good initiative for lowering the price of PMS, with a spiral effect of reducing prices of foods, commodities, and other items,” he said.
Speaking at another conversion centre, Udechukwu Ejike, a Bolt driver whose car is being worked on said, “I’m doing this because petrol price is higher than CNG.
“For instance, in a day, I buy petrol of about N25,000 to N30,000, but with CNG, I am to spend between N3,500 and N7,000.
“I am happy with this initiative, and I advise everyone to consider converting their vehicles from petrol usage to CNG. It is very cheap and good,” he said.
NAN reports that the six conversion centres inspected by the team are NIPCO Oil and Gas Station Airport Road, Kia Motors at Utako, Mijo Gas Auto in Jahi, ABG CNG, Kubwa, Bovas Filling station, Wuse Zone 5 and C&L Mart Energy Solutions Ltd at Lokogoma,
Earlier, Mr Micheal Oluwagbemi, leader of the inspection team and Programme Director of the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGi), said the programme would provide Nigerians with a cheaper and cleaner vehicle fueling alternative.
“President Bola Tinubu has assured that we are making one million conversion kits available for free to the commercial sector and at reasonable discounts for private vehicles.
He said Nigeria had consistently been subsidising petrol at 10 billion dollars a year for the last 15 years, and every single dollar of that had been borrowed.
“A country with the largest gas reserve in the world should have no business consuming petrol and diesel to the level we are doing,” he said.
Oluwagbemi assured that the initiative would address the economic sabotage of smuggling petrol across the nation’s borders.
