A stakeholder analysis of the automotive industry’s use of compressed natural gas in Nigeria

Nigeria experiences a perennial shortage of transportation energy despite being the world’s eighth largest producer of crude oil and the seventh largest proven reservoir of natural gas. Partly as a result, the Nigerian government proposed the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an automotive fuel in 1997 as part of the efforts to harness the country’s natural gas resources and address transportation energy challenges. However, the rate of adoption has been very low with natural gas vehicles constituting 0.04% of the national vehicle fleet. This paper presents a stakeholder analysis derived from interviews with senior executives of the leading organisations involved in the energy and transportation sectors in Nigeria. Analysis revealed thirty-one barriers and twenty-six policy proposals that were categorised into eight and four themes respectively. While there is a rarity of agreement across all stakeholder groups, we observed consensus on the suggestion for the removal of the subsidy on petrol and the need for the establishment of a coordinating agency to drive the use of CNG. The paper offers specific recommendations for the reform of the energy and transportation sectors, the introduction of fiscal and operational incentives and the creation of public awareness.