Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says the company will roll out its smart self-service stations nationwide in structured phases.
Speaking during an interview on Friday, Ojulari said the rollout is subject to the outcome of its initial deployment.
On September 10, the NNPC commissioned a self-service station with an electric vehicle (EV) charging facility in Abuja.
Speaking on when Nigerians should expect the smart station model to be replicated across the country, Ojulari said “subject to the outcome of this initial deployment, we expect the rollout to proceed in structured phases nationwide”.
“The expansion will be guided by customer demand, location, infrastructure readiness and the availability of the different energy solutions in each area,” he said.
“Our commitment is to move with urgency while executing the project in a manner that stands the test of time.”
Ojulari added that Nigerians deserve to see the benefits of this innovation “extended to more communities as quickly as possible”.
“However, at NNPC Limited, speed and sustainability must go hand in hand. Execution Excellence, one of our core pillars, means moving with deliberate speed while ensuring that whatever we build will last,” he said.
“This first Smart Station is a proof of concept, and we are moving deliberately—not slowly.”
Ojulari said the company’s immediate focus is to learn from the station’s operations in real time, work closely with its technology partners to refine the system and ensure that the customer experience meets the standard Nigerians deserve.
“When we scale, we want to replicate a model that works—not one that we will have to rebuild,” he said.
Speaking on the significance of NNPC Retail’s first smart self-service station, Ojulari said it represents the attainment of an important milestone in the transformation of NNPC Retail and NNPC Limited.
“It demonstrates, in practical terms, how we are using technology to improve the efficiency of our retail operations. This is a direct expression of our Execution Excellence pillar,” he said.
The NNPC chief said the project also supports the company’s ambition to build a customer-centric and digitally enabled energy company that listens and responds to the changing needs of Nigerians.
Ojulari said the facility equally reflects NNPC’s commitment to transparent operations across its businesses, which “we believe will benefit not only the company but also Nigeria’s wider growth and development, in line with our Profitable Growth pillar”.
“The model combines self-service fuelling with digital payments and additional energy solutions, including electric vehicle charging, Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Compressed Natural Gas,” he said.
“It is not simply a new type of filling station. It signals a shift towards a more integrated and technology-enabled energy retail experience, developed in collaboration with our technology and retail partners.”
Furthermore, the NNPC chief said “integrity in our operations and trust and convenience for our customers are two sides of the same commitment”.
“The Smart Station has been designed with real-time monitoring of transactions and equipment performance. It is also supported by dedicated maintenance and customer-support processes to ensure that issues are identified and resolved promptly—not after the fact,” he said.
“Controls have been incorporated to ensure pricing accuracy, proper dispensing calibration and the security of digital payments. These measures were developed in partnership with our technology providers to meet the standards our customers deserve.
“Just as importantly, we intend to continue listening to our customers. We will use operational data and direct customer feedback to refine the system continuously.”
Ojulari said the company’s objective is that every transaction must be easy, secure and transparent, and every customer must leave confident that they received exactly what they paid for.