… recommends structured financing, price clarity to boost CNG market

Oredola Adeola

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) has warned of a looming supply crisis in the natural gas market due to the rising adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for industrial and transportation use, urging the urgent development of new gas fields to meet growing demand.

Mr. Clement Isong, Executive Secretary/CEO of MEMAN, who was represented by Adelanke Dayo-Adepoju, Gas and Renewable Energy Specialist, made this assertion while speaking during a special panel session at the Oriental News Nigeria 2025 Energy Conference in Lagos, themed “Integrating Nigeria’s Gas Potentials into Strategic Energy Transition Initiatives.”

Drawing from her industry experience and recent developments in the downstream sector, Dayo-Adepoju stressed the urgent need to address Nigeria’s gas supply challenges.

She said, “I recall that during my time at Axxela as a Sales and Marketing professional, we frequently experienced gas supply disruptions.

“The situation hasn’t improved, even now that I’m with MEMAN. What is evident is that there is a need to fix the supply.”

MEMAN’s Gas and Renewable Energy Specialist has therefore called for the urgent development of new gas fields to boost supply, warning that failure to do so could result in an existential supply crisis.

She added, “The natural gas industry is an end-to-end business. Apart from CAPEX, investors need cash, because even when you have all the infrastructure in place for gas supply through virtual pipelines, you still need cash in dollars to pay for the gas molecule.”

Dayo-Adepoju, in her comment on the regulatory front, flagged issues stifling investment.
According to her, “With our retail stations, we face a lot of issues regarding regulatory challenges.

“We therefore need to create a plan to solve emerging issues and highlight which specific areas to focus more on in terms of advocacy for addressing supply challenges.”

She further recommended a structured financing framework for CNG market as well as price clarity.

Dayo-Adepoju stressed the need for investment security even as Nigeria continues to see increasing adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), especially in the transport sector,
“A lot of Nigerians, including the Uber drivers, are switching via facility retrofitting to CNG.

For every problem, there is an opportunity and solution.

“Therefore, there is a need for a structured loan to these emerging end users, like the Uber community, making sure that we boost this market.”

She warned that regulatory uncertainty around CNG pricing could hinder investor confidence, “We have to address the regulated price of CNG for about five years. Investors, for instance, will be curious to know what happens to their investment after the removal of the subsidy on the CNG price.

“Government should be held accountable by stakeholders to ensure that there is hope for the CNG market after five years.”

She revealed that MEMAN had repositioned its strategy to align with the energy transition:
“For MEMAN, we rebranded a few years ago from MOMAN to MEMAN with six members, in line with the reality of the energy transition, because we needed to ensure that the downstream of the oil and gas sector is active in the energy transition journey.”

Dayo-Adepoju noted that this is why MEMAN established a Competency Centre to bring all stakeholders together.

“There is progress with the Lagos Gas Master Plan currently being developed. With the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGi), a federal government agency, significant efforts have been made to identify areas in the market that require improvement,” she said.