LPG VS CNG in Nigeria – their Strengths and Weaknesses

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• Author: Muyiwa Ige(LPG Stakeholder and Consultant)

With the recent removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit(Petrol) in Nigeria, which triggered the pump price of the product to jump to N500-N700, the stage is now well set for LPG and CNG to compete favorably with petrol as automobile fuel.

Although both fuels (LPG & CNG) are already available in the country, the differences in their composition: LPG ( composed mainly of methane and butane) and CNG(mainly methane), as well as other prevailing factors, will create a gap between the rate of their adoption as automobile fuel in the country.

These are some of the major differences in the current statuses of LPG and CNG in Nigeria:

1.      CNG is more abundant than LPG in the country

CNG is readily more available than LPG in the country. This is partly because it is easier to produce CNG than LPG.

2.      CNG is cheaper than LPG in Nigeria

The average retail price of a liter of CNG is N100-N150, while the average retail price of a liter of LPG is N315-N350, in the country.

3.      LPG has a higher energy density than CNG

LPG is liquefied gas, while CNG is compressed gas; CNG remains in its gaseous form.

Therefore, the energy density in a pressure vessel (e.g gas cylinder) filled with LPG is higher than the energy density in a pressure vessel (e.g gas cylinder) of the same capacity filled with CNG

For instance, a filled 6kg cylinder has a much higher density and will power a vehicle for a longer distance than a 6kg cylinder filled with CNG.

In other terms, LPG has a higher calorific value – 94MJ/m3 than CNG – 38MJ/m3.

In a nutshell, LPG delivers more energy than CNG.

4.      LPG is more readily accessible to the masses than CNG

Since LPG can be stored in portable LPG cylinders which are readily available on the market, LPG is available in every part of the country.

By contrast, portable CNG cylinders are a rare sight in the country and are not available on the market.

In addition, there several standard LPG Plants, Skid Plants and Retail Outlets all over the country, dispensing LPG to the people.

Conversely, there are only a very few CNG Plants dispensing auto-CNG; there are no CNG Skid Plants and CNG Retailers in the country.

5.      LPG Equipment is cheaper than CNGs’

LPG cylinders and tanks are cheaper than CNGs’.

This is because CNG has a very high pressure compared to LPG, which makes it necessary for its cylinders to have high thickness levels, which are very expensive to produce.

Other CNG equipment such as CNG dispensers, transfer pumps, compressors and valves, are more expensive, which discourages investment in CNG facilities.

6.      Conversion to Auto-LPG is cheaper

LPG Autogas conversion kits are cheaper than that of CNG, which makes LPG a preferred option.

7.      LPG Coastal Infrastructure is superior to CNGs’

There are more than nine fully functional LPG coastal depots, with several others in varying stages of completion in the country, while the first CNG/LNG coastal depot is still under construction.

This makes the supply of LPG more robust than CNG in the country.

8.      More LPG Road Transport Trucks

There are thousands of LPG Bridgers and Bobtails transporting LPG from one location to the other in the country, while the total number of CNG Transport trucks is barely up to a hundred.

This has an adverse effect on the availability of CNG in the country, most especially in the hinterlands.