LAGOS/Nigeria: In a bid to mitigate the effects of high fuel costs in Nigeria, Blue Gas Marine (BGM), a US-based company, has introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to passenger boat and ferry operators in the country.
Mr. Layi Solesi, Chief Executive Officer of RIL Hydro Kraft’s Ltd., a customs marine-grade aluminum platforms service provider and the exclusive distributor/strategic partner of BGM, highlighted CNG as a game-changer for the sector during an event in Lagos on Wednesday.
“CNG holds enormous benefits, not only for road transportation but also for marine transportation,” Solesi said. “The event intends to intimate ferry or passenger boat operators on the availability of a solution that can ensure boats operating in Lagos and anywhere in the country utilize CNG.”
“We are the exclusive distributor of Blue Gas Marine, a US company that is the manufacturer of this product,” he added. “As we all know, CNG is the trending topic in Nigeria to bring down fuel costs and to depart from the use of petrol and diesel. We also know the impact of the petrol subsidy removal.”
Solesi listed some of the benefits of CNG as fuel for marine propulsion systems, including being clean, odourless, safer, less flammable, 50 per cent cheaper than petrol, and environmentally friendly.
He emphasized that integrating the marine transportation sub-sector into the Federal and State Governments’ sponsored transport sector targeted CNG adoption Intervention program would help alleviate the impact of the petrol subsidy removal on transport operators.
“It is noteworthy that the Lagos State Government has introduced some new CNG-powered buses into its BRT transport system, while about 1,000 CNG buses are been expected from the NEC transport sector targeted palliative arrangements,” Solesi said.
“There is a far more compelling case for the marine transportation sub-sector to be integrated into the Presidential CNG Initiative,” he added.
Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, General Manager of Lagos State Waterway Authority (LASWA), also emphasized the significance of the stakeholders’ program, noting that the initiative was a worthy one.
“As you know, the fuel subsidy has brought about an increase in petrol, and boats generally rely on petrol,” Emmanuel said. “This means that we need to consider other alternatives to petrol, of which gas is one, electric is another, and so it’s about planning, and if we fail to plan, we are bound to fail.”
He highlighted the importance of enlightening stakeholders on these alternatives to ensure their understanding and successful implementation.
Recall that in August 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Gas Initiative to ease the impact of the petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians by reducing energy costs.
