NNPC to roll out 70 smart filling stations nationwide

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited plans to establish between 50 and 70 smart, self-service filling stations across Nigeria within the next six months as it moves to modernise its retail network.

The new outlets will combine conventional petrol sales with electric vehicle charging, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas and other mobility services under the company’s planned energy hub model.

NNPC Limited’s Executive Vice President, Downstream, Mumuni Dagazau, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the commissioning of a technology-driven station with an electric vehicle charging facility on Bill Clinton Drive, Airport Road.

Dagazau described the newly commissioned outlet as the first in a planned nationwide rollout of smart stations designed to move NNPC’s retail business beyond conventional fuel dispensing.

“This is the first of many smart stations that we are going to have around the country,” he said.

“What the whole concept is, we are trying to turn from a filling station to an energy hub, and we are rolling out a lot of stations.”

He said NNPC expected to deploy “about 50 to 70” of the facilities within six months, noting that similar stations were already being developed in Abuja and Kano.

The stations will allow customers to dispense petrol themselves, including during night operations, using digital payment systems. However, attendants will remain available to assist customers.

Dagazau dismissed concerns that automation would lead to significant job losses, arguing that the broader range of services offered by the new facilities would create additional employment opportunities.

“What NNPC does is create jobs. What this does is create a job,” he said.

According to him, the operation of energy hubs would require personnel to support automation, electric vehicle charging and the integration of different energy services.

“What we’re doing is just what the delivery to the customer is. The guarantee, the comfort of the customer, that’s really what we’re after. That’s what the smart delivery is all about,” he added.

The Executive Director, Retail Operations and Mobility, NNPC Limited, Shettima Baba-Kukawa, said the newly commissioned Abuja facility has a storage capacity of 180,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit and 45,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil.

The station has 16 PMS pumps, two AGO pumps and six electric vehicle charging points installed in partnership with African Motor Works.

It is powered entirely by solar energy through a system with a capacity of more than 200 kilowatts.

Baba-Kukawa said the facility would also offer a quick-service restaurant, coffee shop, automated car wash, modern service bay and LPG dispensing, while CNG facilities and a vehicle conversion centre are planned for the outlet.

He said the station would operate around the clock and allow customers who prefer self-service to complete transactions through a mobile application before dispensing the exact quantity of fuel purchased.

“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,” he said.

Baba-Kukawa, however, said customers who were unable to use the digital platform would still be assisted by station personnel.

Dagazau also announced plans to upgrade existing NNPC retail outlets as part of a wider modernisation programme driven by changing consumer expectations.

“We’re going to modernise our station. That’s the word that we’re going to say,” he said.

He added that customers were demanding better service, making the modernisation of NNPC’s retail network necessary.

The Managing Director of NNPC Retail, Huub Stokman, said the transformation was coming at a time when Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector was undergoing major changes following deregulation and increased domestic refining.

He said consumers now expected better-quality products, competitive pricing, faster transactions, digital payment options and access to alternative energy sources such as CNG and electric vehicle charging.

“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.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nanna Nandap, who delivered a goodwill message at the commissioning, commended NNPC for integrating conventional fuel retailing with electric vehicle charging and other technology-driven services.

She said the facility demonstrated Nigeria’s growing shift towards cleaner energy and smart mobility, adding that such investments could support employment, skills development and industrial growth.

The smart-station programme comes amid rapid changes in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum industry, including deregulation, increased local refining capacity and growing interest in alternative fuels.

NNPC said the initiative was aimed at repositioning its retail network by combining traditional fuel sales with cleaner energy options, digital services and other customer-focused facilities.