CNG conversion costs hit ₦1.1m, as NIPCO opens stations across 24 states

Nigeria’s drive to move motorists from petrol to compressed natural gas (CNG) is expanding, but access remains uneven across the country, while motorists outside government-subsidised conversion schemes can face bills of up to ₦1.1 million to convert their vehicles.

NIPCO Gas, one of the country’s major CNG operators, said it currently has 176 operational CNG refuelling stations across 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with about 15,000 vehicles converted through its facilities.

The figure comprises more than 10,800 commercial vehicles and over 4,000 private vehicles, according to the company.

These figures provide a picture of access on NIPCO’s network as the Federal Government works to expand CNG infrastructure nationwide and make cheaper transport available across all 36 states.

The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), however, puts the broader national network at more than 90 CNG refuelling stations, alongside more than 400 certified conversion centres and over 120,000 vehicles converted nationwide.

The initiative reports that certified conversion centres are available across all 36 states.

The difference between the number of conversion centres and refuelling stations highlights a practical challenge facing motorists: having access to a place to convert a vehicle does not necessarily mean having a nearby place to refill it.

NIPCO noted that gas supply is currently sufficient at its stations, but some locations experience queues because motorists are concentrated around existing facilities.

The company stated that the solution is to establish more stations in surrounding areas to spread demand and reduce congestion. It identified the distance between gas sources and potential CNG markets as a major constraint to expanding the network, particularly because gas must be transported through pipelines or by jumbo cascades, with distance and road conditions affecting distribution.

The cost of conversion remains another barrier for motorists who do not qualify for government-backed incentives.

NIPCO stated that a four-cylinder vehicle converted using an open-loop system currently costs between ₦800,000 and ₦810,000, while a four-cylinder sequential system costs between ₦870,000 and ₦880,000. For six- and eight-cylinder vehicles using a sequential system, the cost rises to between ₦1.09 million and ₦1.1 million, with the final price depending on the size and number of CNG cylinders installed.

The Federal Government’s current Commercial Vehicle Conversion Incentive Programme provides free conversion, including labour, for eligible union-registered commercial vehicles in cities where the programme has been activated. Ride-share operators are eligible for a 50% discount.

NIPCO clarified that the free-conversion category covers commercial minibuses and commercial taxi cars, mainly operated by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria.

However, the number of vehicles converted free of charge through NIPCO remains relatively small, with the company putting the figure at about 136.

NIPCO reported that it had only five paid customers booked for conversion as of September 26, although prospective customers continue to visit its facilities for enquiries.

For motorists paying the full conversion cost, the company said the economics can become favourable with regular vehicle use. NIPCO gave the example of a commercial customer who spends about ₦30,000 a day on petrol but would need about ₦10,000 in CNG to cover the same distance, representing a potential daily fuel-cost difference of about ₦20,000.

The company estimated that commercial vehicle owners could recover their conversion costs within two to three months, while private vehicle owners could recover the cost within six to nine months, depending on usage. The broader Pi-CNG programme similarly states that CNG can be 40% to 60% cheaper per kilometre than petrol, while current public information puts average savings for commercial drivers at about ₦40,000 per month.

The Federal Government has been using lower transport fares in several states as evidence that the cheaper operating cost of CNG can translate into savings for commuters. In Borno, President Bola Tinubu said in a September 19 update that CNG-powered and electric public transport services were carrying passengers for ₦50 to ₦100, compared with commercial fares of ₦300 to ₦600 on some routes. Meanwhile, in Oyo, the deployment of CNG buses on the Lagos-Ibadan route reportedly reduced fares from about ₦8,000 to ₦3,200 during initial deployment.

Further south in Enugu, the state government reported that deploying 100 CNG buses reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from ₦2,500 to ₦1,500, while supported buses in Plateau carried commuters for ₦200, compared with more than ₦500 commercially. In Abuja, fares on some NURTW-operated CNG-converted routes fell by 40%, including the Area 1-Gwagwalada route, where fares dropped from ₦1,500 to ₦900.

The Federal Government set October 1 as a target for more Nigerians to begin seeing reductions in transportation costs, asking states to work with transport unions and operators to expand CNG and other alternative-energy transport services.

However, the expansion of refuelling infrastructure remains critical to whether those savings can be sustained beyond government-supported fleets. Pi-CNG & EV maintains that the national programme has more than 400 certified conversion centres and over 90 refuelling stations, while NIPCO’s network accounts for 176 operational stations across 24 states and the FCT. These differing figures reflect separate networks and should not be treated as directly comparable station counts.

For motorists, the practical question remains the same, whether they can afford to convert, qualify for available support, and find a reliable CNG station close enough to make the switch worthwhile. NIPCO emphasized that expanding stations away from existing gas corridors, improving distribution logistics, and overcoming distance and road constraints will be central to extending CNG access to more parts of Nigeria.