NNPC Unveils Self-service Smart Station, Targets 70 In 6 Months

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has unveiled a self-service smart filling station in Abuja, developed in partnership with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and African Motor Works (AMW), and said it is targeting the deployment of between 50 and 70 similar stations across Nigeria within the next six months.

The executive vice president, Downstream, NNPC Ltd, Engr. Mumuni Dagazau, who spoke at the unveiling, on Thursday, described the facility as the first of several smart stations planned nationwide, aimed at converting conventional filling stations into combined energy and mobility outlets.

“We are hoping to roll out a significant number, probably 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 NNPCL. This is the first of many smart stations that we are going to have around the country. What the whole concept is, we are trying to turn from a filling station to an energy hub,” Dagazau said.

He said the stations would combine petrol, EV charging, LPG and CNG services, alongside car wash and food outlets, and would allow customers to dispense fuel themselves, including at night.

Addressing concerns that the self-service model could lead to job losses, Dagazau said the initiative would instead generate more employment than conventional outlets.

“What NNPC does is create jobs. What this does is create jobs. You have an energy hub today. If you look at the average filling station and you look at the energy hub, you will find more people in the energy hub than you will find in the filling stations,” he said, adding that the facilities would require additional personnel to manage automation, EV charging and other services.

He disclosed that more smart stations were being planned for Abuja and Kano ahead of nationwide expansion, and that NNPC was also upgrading its existing outlets under a wider review of NNPC Retail operations. “We are going to modernise our stations. The customer deserves a better quality of service and we are delivering that quality of service,” he said.

On EV charging, Dagazau said the Abuja station had fast chargers that could charge an electric vehicle in about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the vehicle type and battery level.

The executive director, Retail Operations and Mobility, NNPC Ltd, Shettima Baba-Kukawa, said the facility, delivered through a partnership involving NNPC Retail, the NIS, AMW and other development partners, had a storage capacity of 180,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 45,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

He said the station had 16 PMS pumps, two AGO pumps and six EV charging points installed in partnership with AMW, and was powered by solar energy through a system with a capacity of more than 200 kilowatts.

Baba-Kukawa said the station would include a quick-service restaurant, coffee shop, automated car wash, service bay, auto-care centre, mini-mart and supermarket, alongside LPG dispensing and a planned CNG conversion centre.

“The station is going to run 24 hours. And it is fully self-service. So for customers that want to trust themselves and dispense themselves, they can actually do that. Transactions are done on their phone app and concluded by dispensing the exact amount of fuel they purchased into their tanks,” he said.

He explained that customers wishing to use the self-service option would need to download the NNPC Retail app, create and fund a wallet, and generate a code authorising the exact quantity of fuel to be dispensed, adding that customers unable to use the digital system would not be excluded, as staff would remain available to assist them.

The managing director of NNPC Retail, Mr Huub Stokman, said the changes followed the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the start of operations at the Dangote Refinery.

He said consumers were increasingly asking for competitive pricing, faster service, digital payment options and new energy solutions such as EV charging and CNG.

“Above all, especially the younger generation, they want us to deliver it in a sustainable way, hence the fact that you also see that this station is completely solar-powered,” Stokman said, adding that NNPC Retail would continue investing in technology, partnerships and new energy solutions. He acknowledged the NIS, AMW and other partners for their roles in the project.

The comptroller-general of the NIS,  Kemi  Nandap, said the partnership would support the Service in fulfilling some of its mandates, and reaffirmed the NIS’s commitment to the collaboration.

Nandap was represented by the deputy comptroller, Bashir Daura