Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, Managing Director of 11Plc and Chairman of MOMAN
-By Felix Douglas
Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, Managing Director of 11plc (former Mobil Oil) and Chairman Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), expressed his views at a panel session during the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition that significant investments have been made in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) space in the country with more than 7000 vehicles in Benin running through it.
He gave reasons why CNG has not been replicated across the country except in Benin where seven stations are dispensing the product through Nigeria Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO).
The 11 Plc helmsman noted that investments in CNG infrastructure is capital intensive. “You need a lot of sophiscated equipment to compress the air and pipeline system to extract the gas. There is 50 kilometres pipeline that goes round Benin that is able to feed individual CNG stations. Obviously, there is requirement of significant investments.”
The MOMAN Chairman stated clearly that CNG requires viable investments with the right economics and financial support that will attract investors including financial institutions.
He disclosed that CNG is cheaper but the infrastructure to support it is complicated and expensive. In his words, “one thing that have learnt since have been in this business for forty years is that Nigeria has no issue with getting competent investors. If the country decides to get involved in building of aeroplanes, it will not find it difficult to get investors but there has to be an enabling environment for them to thrive.”
Therefore, CNG and LPG can attract investments with the right environment and perspective for investors to thrive. The massive investments of CNG infrastructure in Benin is a testament that if there is a viable environment for investment, it will sprout and transcend across the country.
On the aspect of Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG), Oyebanji said there is substantial investments and lot of expertise in the system but as a country, “we should determine what to do with a better approach which is to take advantage of our gas resources to enable us to move faster since we have infrastructure that will make fast progress.”
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