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| Panel discussion |
Nigeria is moving to deepen local participation in the compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicle (EV) conversion value chains and to shift refinery planning toward petrochemicals, delegates said at the 2026 Nigerian Oil and Gas Midstream and Downstream Summit (NOGMDS) in Lagos on May 19–20.
Speakers at the summit, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), argued that replicating the upstream’s Nigerian-content gains across midstream and downstream segments would unlock jobs, lower costs and spur new manufacturing clusters.
Olayinka Rufai, representing the Presidential CNG Initiative and CNG and EV Online, told the summit that local participation in last-mile deployment is essential because of the technical requirements for vehicle conversion and service delivery.
Under the initiative, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) collaborating on conversions are required to transfer technology to Nigerian technicians.
Rufai said while conversion kits are still imported, roughly 65 components - from mirrors and seat fabrics to cylinder assemblies - could be made locally. To support that, the Federal Government has created a CNG Industrial Park in Ajaokuta as a manufacturing and assembly hub, with plans to localise cylinder production.
The park has expanded from an initial 10 hectares to more than four times that size, Newsmart gathered on the occasion.
“We are essentially importing a lot of air in those cylinders,” Rufai said, stressing that local production will cut costs and stimulate industrial growth.
Delegates also described cross-agency efforts to build standards and certification for the growing CNG ecosystem. The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), the said, has developed National Occupational Standards and certification frameworks for conversion technicians to ensure qualified personnel handle conversions.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) will oversee product certification and quality monitoring for imported equipment, with participation limited to properly accredited organisations, the summit disclosed.
It was also gathered that the Presidential CNG Initiative has partnered with government institutions, including the military, NYSC and regional development agencies, to train technicians and graduates in conversion technologies, just as programs to train thousands of Nigerians, we learnt, are already underway, and talks are ongoing with the Nigerian Railway Corporation on converting rail systems from diesel to natural gas.
To attract private investment, Rufai said the initiative offers incentives such as guaranteed offtake arrangements for manufacturers in the industrial park and import duty waivers on CNG-related equipment.
Engr. Tony Ogbuigwe, MD of Gas & Energy Resources Consulting Ltd, speaking on refining strategy, urged Nigeria to design future refineries with petrochemical integration rather than treating refineries solely as fuel producers.
Citing the Dangote Refinery’s petrochemical output, he recommended redirecting streams such as naphtha into ethylene, propylene and other industrial feedstocks.
Ogbuigwe noted that historical refineries in Warri and Kaduna once produced petrochemical products but failed to sustain those configurations. He also encouraged smaller, modular refinery operators to collaborate, sharing processing systems for desulphurisation and waste treatment, to overcome technical and economic barriers.
Over all, industry players signalled readiness to pivot. Dolapo Ikotun, speaking for modular refinery operators, said many independents that focused on diesel are now planning expansions into LPG and other petrochemical products.
The panel agreed that downstream deregulation and subsidy removal have strengthened the commercial case for petrochemical-integrated projects.
Across sessions, stakeholders said Nigerian content in midstream and downstream sectors must be reframed from regulatory box-ticking into a deliberate industrialisation strategy. They called for a comprehensive national industrial plan focused on petrochemicals, gas, refining and energy infrastructure development.
Closing the session, summit chairperson reminded delegates that refining alone yields more than 6,000 derivative products, underscoring the vast untapped potential beyond fuel exports if Nigeria aligns policy, standards, skills development and investment incentives for local industry growth.
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