The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria
(IPMAN) had sealed the deal with the bank following removal of petrol subsidy
by President Bola Tinubu.
National president of IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo,
disclosed this development to LEADERSHIP on phone yesterday.
Our correspondent gathered that the association made the
approach after it conducted a market survey on the cost of converting existing
petrol stations to CNG outlets.
According a report, IPMAN had already commenced
identification of members interested in co-locating CNG dispensers and
infrastructure on their existing petrol retail outlets.
The exercise is to identify qualified potential candidates
for loans to support its target of establishing 10-20 co-located CNG stations
in each state of the federation during the first phase of its planned
nationwide rollout.
From a document cited by our correspondent, the minimum
investment required for a CNG station with two dispensers and four hoses
co-located in an existing or inactive station capable of dispensing 250,000
standard cubic feet daily SCFD or 500,000 SCFD of natural gas, equivalent to
7,480-15,000 litres of petrol a day, is approximately N300 million.
Under the loan arrangement, interested marketers would make 15
per cent down payment with the rest of the fund repaid over ten years.
Also, a dedicated CNG station serving trucks with daily
dispensing capacity of 500,000 SCFD to 1,000,000 SCFD of natural gas,
equivalent to 14,280 to 28,000 litres of diesel a day, requires investment of
approximately N1.4 billion.
However, retrofitting a typical auto workshop under the deal
which is found in a filling station requires an investment of approximately N8
million.
Meanwhile, building a new CNG station with 4-10 dispensers
requires an investment of about N500 million.
It would be recalled that IPMAN said it was ready to roll
out cheap fuel for Nigerians at N100 per litre to cushion the effect of petrol
subsidy removal on Nigerians
Okoronkwo had, in the wake of the subsidy removal, announced
that the association was 90 per cent ready to roll out CNG as an alternative
fuel, which would sell between N100 to N110 per litre before the end of June.