Energy experts have called on the Federal Government to address the inherent challenges facing the Autogas Policy.
While the Central Bank of Nigeria had introduced a N250 billion intervention fund under the National Gas Expansion Programme, Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, had disclosed that the government would work with the CBN to ensure full implementation of the Autogas Policy.
CBN had in the gas policy framework said low level of investment was hindering domestic gas consumption, adding that they would stimulate production and utilisation of Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas as clean alternative sources.
Sylva had said: “We are working right now with the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that we are able to bring in conversion kits for a critical mass of vehicles.
“And then also give soft loans at the same time to downstream operators to fix their filling stations, so that when we fit the two together, it will work.
“In many cases government interventions are quite critical in controlling cost of borrowing in developing sectors. The CBN intervention remains a positive tool for the development of the domestic gas sector”.
However, the payback has to be enforced to ensure the fund remains available for further critical interventions, Jaiyeola noted, adding that further sensitisation on the autogas initiative would be needed for its acceptability.
“This is a highly technical area where safety is of high importance especially where a mechanical item is made to run on fuel feedstock different from its original design.
“The global acceptability of this need to be obtained, especially from the original manufacturers. Possible negative impact needs to be identified as well to enable informed decision prior to implementation,” he added.
Appropriate pricing system needs, according to him, must be instituted to enable the forces of demand and supply determine the price and enable adequate returns on investment.
Michael Faniran, an energy expert, noted that one of the imperatives of the Autogas Policy remained the need for people to convert their vehicles so that it could use both petrol and gas.
He insisted that there was need for a public-private partnership type of fund to finance vehicle and retail outlets conversion kits to guarantee sustainability, adding that the CBN could disburse the funds through a special purpose vehicle with private sector players.
For the private sector to come in, Faniran noted that there must be a very clear enabling policy and that the government must have a well thought out and bankable plan to attract the private sector.