CNG to save Kano tricycle riders ₦8,200 daily — MDGIF

Commercial tricycle operators in Kano State could save about ₦8,200 daily on fuel costs by switching from petrol to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the Executive Director of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), Oluwole Adama, has said. Adama disclosed this on Tuesday during the commissioning of two Liquefied Compressed Natural Gas (LCNG) facilities established by the MDGIF in partnership with Rolling Energy Limited in Kano.

He explained that an operator who spends about ₦14,200 daily on 10 litres of petrol would spend approximately ₦6,000 on CNG for the equivalent energy, resulting in a daily saving of ₦8,200. According to him, the savings could amount to nearly ₦250,000 monthly, providing tricycle operators with additional income to meet household expenses, pay their children’s school fees and save towards owning their tricycles.

“Here in Kano, a litre of petrol sells for about ₦1,420, while the same amount of energy from CNG costs about ₦600. That is less than half the price,” Adama said. The two facilities commissioned are the LCNG Mother Station at Tamburawa and a Daughter Station at Hotoro Quarters in Tarauni Local Government Area. Adama said the facilities could support the refuelling of up to 2,500 cars and tricycles daily, while also supplying gas to other refuelling stations.

He added that they could serve up to 200 trucks daily, helping to reduce transportation costs and ease the movement of goods from Kano to other parts of the country. The MDGIF executive director disclosed that the Tamburawa Mother Station had the capacity to handle 300,000 standard cubic metres of gas daily. He urged fleet owners, transport unions, businesses and investors to take advantage of the facilities, while calling on Rolling Energy to maintain high safety standards and ensure reliable services.

Earlier, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rolling Energy Limited, Mubarak Umar Danbatta, said the projects would bring gas supply closer to businesses and investors in Northern Nigeria. He explained that the development would reduce the cost and logistical challenges associated with transporting gas over long distances, making it easier for businesses to establish CNG stations and industries that depend on natural gas.

Danbatta said his company previously travelled hundreds of kilometres from Abuja to source CNG from Ajaokuta and Obajana in Kogi State before transporting it to supply its stations. “What Rolling Energy and MDGIF are doing here in Kano is changing that model. We are bringing gas closer to the people,” he said. He disclosed that the Tamburawa facility had a designed gas-handling capacity of five million standard cubic feet daily, with two LNG storage tanks of 55 metric tonnes each, while the Hotoro station had a storage capacity of eight metric tonnes.

Danbatta added that the Tamburawa facility could fill about 12 CNG tube skids daily and support up to six daughter stations. He further disclosed that the company’s stations would have vehicle conversion workshops equipped with Greco CNG conversion kits, with the capacity to convert 66 vehicles daily across five stations. According to him, the projects formed part of a wider partnership with MDGIF to establish 10 gas stations, eight planned gas-to-power facilities and an LNG and CNG transportation network.

He said the partnership also had plans to expand its operations to Kaduna, Borno, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states. Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the facilities would improve access to domestic gas, support businesses and provide cleaner energy alternatives.