The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) plans to install 50–70 smart, self-service fuel stations across the country within the next six months.
The company said the initiative forms part of a broader plan to transform its traditional retail outlets into modern energy and mobility hubs offering compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel, electric vehicle charging and other services.
Mumuni Dagazau, Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPCL, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the opening of a technology-driven service station with an electric vehicle charging facility.
The mega station is located on Airport Road, Bill Clinton Drive.
Dagazau said the newly opened self-service fuel station is the first of several smart outlets NNPCL plans to launch across the country. He said the initiative aims to move beyond traditional petrol retailing by offering customers a range of energy and mobility services in one location.
He said, “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, and we are rolling out a lot of stations.
“Even in Abuja, I believe there are maybe four or five of these stations. We are introducing two more in Kano. We’re creating these kinds of smart stations,” he said.
“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 NNPC.
Job loss concerns
Although attendants will remain at the stations to assist customers, the new model will also allow motorists to dispense fuel themselves, including at night, using a digital payment system.
Dagazau dismissed concerns that self-service pumps could lead to job losses. He said the system would require additional personnel to operate and maintain the facilities.
“Well, you saw all of the pumps have attendants. So I really don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to jobs. What NNPC does is create jobs. What this does is create a job.
“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, right? So what we are doing is creating jobs for that. Somebody has to support the integration.
“Somebody has to support the automation. The EVs, we have to be here to support people. So nothing really changes for us. 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.”
NNPCL’s Self-Service Fuel Stations programmes aims to prepare its retail network for the evolving energy market by combining traditional fuel sales with cleaner energy, digital services and other customer-focused solutions.
Backstory…
The move comes as NNPC continues to reposition itself as a commercial energy company following the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act, which transformed the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into NNPC Limited. Its retail arm has also expanded considerably, including through the acquisition of OVH Energy in 2022, which brought hundreds of additional filling stations into the network.
