The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited plans to deploy between 50 and 70 smart, self-service filling stations across Nigeria within the next six months.
Mumuni Dagazau, NNPC Executive Vice-President, Downstream, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the commissioning of a self-service station equipped with an electric vehicle (EV) charging facility.
Dagazau said the initiative is part of efforts to transform 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.
He added that two more smart stations were being launched in Kano, with NNPC targeting between 50 and 70 such facilities nationwide within the next six months.
According to Dagazau, the energy hubs will combine electricity, gas and petrol services, alongside EV charging facilities.
He said customers would be able to dispense petrol themselves, including at night, using digital payment platforms, while attendants would remain available to provide assistance.
Dagazau also dismissed concerns that automation could result in job losses, arguing that the broader range of services at the energy hubs would create additional employment opportunities.
“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.”
He said the smart stations were designed to improve service delivery, convenience and the overall customer experience.
The Managing Director of NNPC Retail, Huub Stokman, said the transformation was necessary as Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market evolves following deregulation and the commencement of operations at the Dangote refinery.
Stokman said consumers were increasingly demanding quality products, competitive prices, faster services, digital payment options and alternative energy services 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,” he said.
Also speaking, Shettima Baba-Kukawa, NNPC Executive Director, Retail Operations and Mobility, disclosed that the Abuja station has a storage capacity of 180,000 litres of petrol and 45,000 litres of diesel.
