The Chairman of the Auto-Gas Committee of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association, Bambo Ademiluyi, has said that following the removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are cheaper and more available alternatives for fuel in Nigeria.
Ademiluyi said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, where he outlined the effectiveness of these two gases and their benefits to Nigerians.
Speaking on the differences between both gases, the chairman said, “Both of them are natural gases, they are from the same source… but in terms of use, they can be used for the same applications. However, while CNG is cheaper when it is being used in the long run, LPG is more available.
“What I mean by availability is LPG, presently, is all over the country. It’s just your regular cooking gas, that is Liquefied Petroleum Gas. And it’s not only propane in actual fact, it is more a blend of propane and butane, propane being less than even butane in the blend, so, it is not dangerous.
“CNG is not dangerous either. None of them are dangerous. Like I always say to people, every hydro carbon is dangerous, even your candle is dangerous if you don’t use it properly.”
Ademiluyi, emphasizing on the efficiency of both gases, said that LPG is more available and is the “quick fix” fuel for Nigerians at the moment. He said, “The president announced fuel subsidy removal and we are looking for something to replace that subsidy as quickly as possible, something that will make Nigerians burn a clean fuel that will not require the government to use subsidy.
“LPG is the answer, because in the space of about three to four months, you can actually convert a lot of vehicles in Nigeria today to run on LPG.
“CNG on the other hand, for areas where it is available, I will probably say is more useful for the big boys, you know, the big generators who are guzzling a lot of fuel, estates that are running big generators, industries that are burning fuel for boilers, and things like that.
“But if you want to deploy CNG for the common man, I think, for the common man alone, it may be a little too expensive. The profitability for the investor is not like LPG. So, that basically is the difference between the two, but they can be used for the same, LPG can be used for power generation too.”
Speaking of the availability of LPG, he said that although it is available, it will be more widespread if there were more investments from the government in the production of the gas product. He said, “It’s available if government puts in a little more effort to make sure those that are producing are selling in-country.
“NLNG has been the one that is selling virtually all the in-country stock, but we still import a lot of it. But we want to see a situation where the marginal oil field owners are encouraged to convert their flared gas to propane/butane condensate from the local market.
“It’s very expensive, so, if they get some support, maybe single digit interests from all these funds that are being applied for these days, they can produce more for in-country use, and we can import less.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
Follow us on:
