In the last couple of weeks, the Nigerian government directed through the state Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR that 9,000 filling stations in be made facility-ready for gas products.
These products will serve as alternative fuel source for activities like cooking, heating, cooling and transportation, while also reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
The move is expected to improve the utilization of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Autogas.
Since the deregulation of the downstream sector, there has been an agitation about the pump price of petrol.
The first thought that comes to mind is the financial benefit that comes with gas powered vehicles.
Given the current pump price of PMS, also known as petrol, the DPR has said that about $23 million can be saved daily if this switch is made by car owners in the country.
This move also reduces carbon emissions since it has been established that gas powered vehicles have between 15- 20 per cent reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide emission in comparison to their petrol and diesel engine.
A World Bank 2014 survey estimated Nigeria’s CO2 emission from transport in Nigeria was 35.4 per cent.
They also emit no Nitrogen oxides (NOX) hence deemed environmentally friendly, since they contribute very little greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Another addition is that gas powered engines are usually less noisy.
Since LPG has a very high octane number of about 110, gas powered cars can then have an easier acceleration and seamless operation.
This is very beneficial when it comes to driving within a city where one has to do a lot of stopping and starting, evading noise which is a very disturbing form of pollution.
Also, gas powered engines have a quite long operational life in comparison to the PMS engines.