The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) is set to deploy between 50 and 70 smart, self-service filling stations nationwide within the next six months as part of efforts to reshape its retail business into integrated energy and mobility hubs.
The company said the new outlets would combine conventional petrol retailing with electric vehicle (EV) charging, gas services and other customer-focused facilities, giving motorists access to multiple energy and mobility solutions at a single location.
The Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPC Ltd., Mumuni Dagazau, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the commissioning of a technology-driven service station with an electric vehicle charging facility along Bill Clinton Drive, Airport Road.
Dagazau described the facility as the first of several smart stations planned for the country, saying the initiative was designed to move NNPC’s retail outlets beyond conventional fuel dispensing.
“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. I think even in Abuja, for this type of station, we have about four or five. We have another two that we’re launching out in Kano. This sort of smart stations that we’re doing.
“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.
“So what you see here is that we are using all sorts of energy available to us, including EV, electric energy. We are going to be using gas; we are going to be using petrol. So it’s a centre where you can come, and we are going to be calling it our energy hub.”
Under the new model, customers will be able to dispense petrol themselves through a digital payment system, including during night operations. However, attendants will remain available to assist customers who require help.
Dagazau rejected concerns that the introduction of self-service pumps could lead to job losses, saying the expanded operations and technology-driven services would create new employment opportunities.
“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.”
The Executive Director, Retail Operations and Mobility, NNPC Ltd., Shettima Baba-Kukawa, said the Abuja facility has a storage capacity of 180,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 45,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
The station has 16 PMS pumps, two AGO pumps and six EV charging points installed in partnership with African Motors 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 provide a quick-service restaurant, coffee shop, automated car wash, modern service bay and LPG dispensing facilities, while CNG services and a vehicle conversion centre are planned for the outlet.
He said the station would operate round the clock and allow customers 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 who 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, however, said customers who were unable to use the application would still be able to access the service, as station staff would be available to assist them.
Dagazau said NNPC had also commenced plans to modernise its existing filling stations in response to changing customer expectations and the growing demand for better service.
“We’re going to modernise our station. That’s the word that we’re going to say.
“You don’t want to be going into the same station every day, every day, every day. You are demanding, so our modernisation is a demand from what the customer wants. The customer deserves a better quality of service, and we are delivering that quality of service.”
He said NNPC hoped that most of its stations would eventually adopt the smart energy hub model, adding that the pace of the transition would depend on customer demand and the level of investment required.
