By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Federal Government has acceded to the request of the Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas (PCNGI) for strategic gas allocation for Mobility focused Compressed Natural Gas projects, in a form of pricing concession.

Michael Oluwagbemi, Programme Director/Chief Executive of PCNGI, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He said that news of the granting of the concession was contained in a letter from the Chief Executive (ACE) of the Nigerian Mainstream And Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPDRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, dated 20th April, 2024.

Oluwagbemi disclosed in the statement that NMPDRA has designated mobility compressed National Gas as a special status, which will serve as a subset of Gas to commercial (GTC).

The statement reads in part: Gas Based Industry (GBI) pricing categorisation for an initial period of 5 years, and renewable for another 5 years only in accordance with the provisions of Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. The GBI pricing of $1.57/MMBtu is set much lower than ordinary $2.42 and $2.92 for Power and Commercial buyers respectively.

The Presidential Committee on Compressed Natural Gas led by Dr. Zacch Adedeji had initially requested for strategic gas allocation for Mobility focused Compressed Natural Gas projects, in a form of pricing concession.

This milestone concession is a significant achievement of the PCNGI collaborative work with NMPDRA. This concession is expected to spur investors confidence and commercial activities in the nascent market while promoting government policy aspiration for the sector.

The PCNGI calls on all stakeholders in the sector to take full advantage of this concessionary pricing model for Mobility CNG, and recommit themselves to the future of a gas driven transportation sector that lowers food and energy inflation, while ensuring a cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable energy for powering the economy forward in line with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.