The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it plans to deploy between 50 and 70 smart, self-service filling stations across Nigeria within the next six months.
Mumuni Dagazau, the executive vice-president of downstream at the NNPC, announced the plan on Thursday in Abuja at the commissioning of a self-service station with an electric vehicle (EV) charging facility.
Dagazau said the initiative is aimed at transforming conventional filling stations into energy hubs offering multiple energy and mobility services.
“This is the first of many smart stations that we are going to have around the country. We are trying to turn from a filling station to an energy hub, and we are rolling out a lot of stations. I think even in Abuja, for this type of station, we have about four or five,” he said.
“We have another two that we’re launching out in Kano. This sort of smart stations that we’re doing.
“We are hoping to roll out a significant number, about 50 to 70 of these types of stations, within the next six months. So this is what you’ll be seeing going forward from NNPC.”
Dagazau said the energy hub would combine different energy sources, including electricity, gas, and petrol, while also providing electric vehicle charging services.
He said the new model will allow customers to dispense petrol themselves, including at night, using digital payment systems, while attendants will remain available to assist customers.
Dagazau dismissed concerns that self-service pumps could lead to job losses, saying the expanded services at the energy hubs would require additional workers to operate and support the technology.
“You have an energy hub today. If you look at the average filling station and you look at the energy hub, you’ll find more people in the energy hub than you would find in the filling stations. So what we are doing is creating jobs for that. Somebody has to support the integration,” he said.
“Somebody has to support the automation. For the EVs, we have to be here to support people. So nothing really changes for us.”
Dagazau said the smart stations are designed to improve service delivery, customer convenience, and overall experience.
Huub Stokman, the managing director of NNPC Retail, said the transformation was necessary as the downstream petroleum market evolves following deregulation and the commencement of operations at the Dangote refinery.
Stokman said consumers are increasingly demanding quality products, competitive prices, faster services, digital payments, and alternative energy options such as EV charging and compressed natural gas (CNG).
“Above all, especially the younger generation, they want us to deliver it sustainably, hence the fact that you also see that this station is completely solar-powered,” Stokman said.
Also speaking, Shettima Baba-Kukawa, executive director of retail operations and mobility at the NNPC, said the Abuja station has a storage capacity of 180,000 litres of petrol and 45,000 litres of diesel.
