The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to invest gains from rising global oil prices into expanding Nigeria’s gas infrastructure to support long-term energy security.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the association’s National President, made the call while reacting to the impact of escalating tensions in the Middle East, where conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States has disrupted global energy supply and pushed crude oil prices higher.
Gillis-Harry said the expected windfall from elevated oil prices should be invested in energy infrastructure and value chains rather than spent immediately, noting that such investments would strengthen Nigeria’s long-term energy resilience.
He also endorsed the government’s push to expand Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) adoption as a cheaper alternative fuel for transportation, saying the initiative could help reduce the burden of rising transport costs on Nigerians.
According to him, expanding gas infrastructure would allow petroleum marketers to establish more CNG daughter stations, while ensuring sufficient mother stations to supply and distribute gas nationwide.
Nigeria’s 2026 budget benchmark is based on crude oil prices of $64.85 per barrel, but global prices have recently climbed above $100 per barrel, raising the possibility of additional revenue for oil-producing countries.
However, the potential windfall may be limited by declining output. Data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries shows Nigeria’s crude oil production fell 10.67% to 1.31 million barrels per day in February 2026, below the government’s 2.6 million barrels per day production target.
Gillis-Harry added that PETROAN members operate over 8,000 filling stations nationwide, positioning the association to support the Federal Government’s gasification drive.
As part of the initiative, Bola Tinubu has directed the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas to deploy 100,000 vehicle conversion kits across the country to encourage the shift to cheaper and cleaner fuel alternatives.
