Powergas Nigeria has struck a partnership with an Austrian clean tech company , ETEFA, to facilitate the conversion of city buses and trucks in Lagos and the Niger Delta to run on natural gas , as part of efforts to reduce gas flaring in the country .
The companies announced the alliance during a briefing on flare gas recovery in Nigeria organised with the support by the Austrian Development Agency and the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy in Nigeria .
They said gas flare monetisation projects could potentially save Nigeria over $ 2 .5 bn per year by reducing fuel costs in the transportation and power generation sectors by over 30 per cent .
    According to a statement , Powergas will provide the necessary infrastructure for the CNG supply and ETEFA will supply gas engines and associated technology .
“ Eventually , ETEFA intends to locally manufacture gas - fired buses , trucks and engines in Nigeria with its Nigerian partners , ” it said.
The Managing Director , Powergas Nigeria , Mr . Pulak Sen, said, “ As a company , Powergas is committed to providing an environmentally friendly fuel source to spur economic growth and industrialisation in conjunction with reducing the carbon footprint .
“ We believe that natural gas - fired power generation emits up to five times less nitrogen oxides compared with diesel generation and near- zero particulate matter . Today, Nigeria ’s annual diesel importation is the same as the natural gas being flared . ”
According to Sen , Powergas has long been promoting natural gas as a preferable substitute to conventional liquid fuels, cleaner and cheaper than petrol or diesel , and offers both financial savings and environmental benefits .
“ Powergas partners with Cummins Power Generation Nigeria , which is also championing cleaner gas - fired power generation . Cummins lean burn gas generators meet emission criteria in even the most environmentally sensitive areas including California and USA ,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer, ETEFA GmbH , Mr . Johann Rieger, said, “ The quality of the imported diesel , according to United Nations Environment Programme , hardly fulfils Euro 1 emission standards because of its high sulphur content.
“ Diesel imports are the US dollar -dependent ; hence , increasing the cost of fuel and decreasing the country ’s scarce foreign exchange reserves. ”
With reserves of 188 Trillion cubic feet, Nigeria had the largest gas reserves in Africa, Rieger noted .
“ As a domestically available natural resource , effective utilisation is extremely important for import substitution (of liquid fuels ) and forex savings. Gas Flare Reduction Programme - sponsored projects can clean and process flared gas into natural gas , along with other by - products such as propane , butane and the LPG, ” he added .
According to him , If all of the gas being flared in Nigeria is captured and processed , it can power up to 200 ,000 city buses (public transport) or 200, 000 trucks (commercial transport), or even double Nigeria ’s power generation capacity , while significantly improving the quality of the air (lower carbon and particulate emissions).
Rieger said, “ In other words , recovery and utilisation of flared gas will contribute positively to the Nigerian economy by bringing down fuel and energy costs – which will have a trickle- down effect on food prices, transportation costs and ultimately rein in Inflation.
“ And the good news is that with the available gas reserves , it is still not too late . The introduction of gas - fired city buses for public transport will significantly lower ticket prices for passengers . This will especially have a positive impact on the lower income populace who spend up to 40 per cent of their monthly income on public transport.”