Nigeria’s Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) has concluded discussions with Endurance Group, a leading Chinese manufacturer, to build 500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling stations across the country over the next three years, government officials revealed on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, the MDGIF’s executive director Oluwole Adama said the talks focused on the creation of a government-backed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Compressed Natural Gas Auto Mobility Infrastructure Company (CAM InfraCo) which will be jointly promoted by MDGIF, the Bank of Industry, Endurance Group, and Séqour Investment Partners.
Adama said the collaboration underscores the parties’ commitment to accelerating Nigeria’s transition to cleaner fuels by addressing infrastructure gaps across the country’s CNG value chain.
“Under this agreement, it will set up the Compressed Natural Gas Auto Mobility Infrastructure Company (CAM InfraCo), which will be used to deploy 500 integrated CNG refuelling stations, develop LCNG gas supply infrastructure, and provide CNG and LNG transportation trucks with truck-mounted cascades, forming a virtual pipeline across all states nationwide,” Adama stated.
He further explained that the project will significantly reduce the long queues currently being experienced at existing CNG stations across the country by improving access to refuelling points and ensuring consistent supply through a modern logistics and distribution framework.
The chief executive of Endurance Group, Eric Lin, said the SPV’s objective is to establish a nationwide CNG refuelling, maintenance, and logistics ecosystem by leasing CNG-related equipment to certified operators and ensuring reliable gas supply through a world-class virtual pipeline network.
According to Lin, CAM InfraCo’s leasing and logistics model will create a commercially viable and resilient national CNG infrastructure.
“The strategy will focus on delivering CNG from strategically located mother stations to underserved northern corridors and rapidly expanding southern clusters, leveraging existing hubs and planned infrastructure to ensure sustainable, cost-effective market expansion nationwide,” Lin said.
In his remarks, the Senior Special Adviser to Nigeria’s President Tinubu on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs, Oluwatoyin Subair, said the initiative supports the government’s broader economic and energy reforms to promote cleaner, more affordable, and locally sustainable energy solutions while generating new jobs within the domestic gas value chain.
Since the Nigerian government announced plans to mainstream CNG use as an alternative to the more expensive petrol, more than 100,000 petrol-powered vehicles have been converted to run on CNG in the past year.
With 60 current operational refuelling stations nationwide and 175 more underway, the additional 500 refuelling stations to be built by CAM InfraCo will significantly bolster mainstream CNG use in the country.
Meanwhile, the cost of the planned CNG project is not immediately clear.