Sterling Oil Boots Police Logistics Capacity with Gift of CNG Buses

Peter Uzoho

Last Tuesday morning, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, two gleaming buses rolled in, not on diesel, not on petrol, but on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). It was indeed a remarkable day, as Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited, (SEEPCO), one of the independent energy companies in Nigeria, was handing over the keys to the buses to the Nigeria Police Force.

The excited, grateful Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Riliwan Disu, did the unveiling alongside Sterling Oil’s Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Mohit Barot.

Around them stood senior Force officers and a Sterling Oil delegation led by Head of Business Development, Raj Bhargava, the company’s Public Relations Officer, and other executives.

For the Police, the donation is immediate and practical. IGP Disu described the buses as a welcome addition to the Force’s logistics capacity, saying they would improve personnel mobility and support officer welfare.

He also commended what he called the growing role of private-sector partnerships in strengthening the operational efficiency and service delivery of security institutions.

For Sterling Oil, it was about something bigger than vehicles.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Barot framed the gesture as an extension of the company’s sustainability philosophy. Rather than hand over conventional fuel vehicles, Sterling Oil chose CNG.

The reason, he explained, was simple: CNG burns more cleanly, emits significantly less carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, and costs considerably less to run. Those, he said, were the same benefits the company seeks for itself.

“This donation is more than a corporate gesture,” Barot said. “It reflects how cleaner transport and corporate sustainability can come together to support Nigeria’s public institutions, and it’s consistent with the standard we hold ourselves to across our own operations.”

A company already running on gas, that standard is visible across Sterling Oil’s operations. The Abuja donation is not an isolated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) act. It is the latest chapter in a deliberate, company-wide shift toward cleaner energy.

Start with the fleet. Today, more than 90 percent of Sterling Oil’s heavy- and light-duty vehicles run on natural gas. The remaining few are slated to transition to CNG or electric vehicles. The company reports that this switch alone has cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by more than 39,000 tonnes and reduced diesel consumption by roughly 290,500 litres every month.

Then there is the water. In the Niger Delta, where oil spills have scarred rivers and wetlands for decades, Sterling Oil has completed a full upgrade of its 33-barge marine fleet to double-hull systems. It is an internationally recognised design meant to contain cargo even in an accident, directly reducing the risk of spills into fragile ecosystems.

On land and in communities, the impact is measured in litres saved. Through cleaner fuel initiatives, the company reports annual savings of more than 500,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known by most Nigerians as petrol. The initiatives have benefited host communities and supported emergency electricity supply using natural gas.

The numbers on emissions are also moving as Sterling Oil has achieved an 18 percent reduction in routine gas flaring and has deployed methane leak-detection technology capable of cutting fugitive emissions by up to 80 percent.

The oil and gas producer has also put in place spill-response systems designed to contain incidents exceeding 300 barrels on both land and water.

Safety, too, is part of its story, as the company reports a 100 percent incident-free drilling record over the past five years, alongside full compliance with statutory dispersant regulations.

By giving the Police CNG buses instead of diesel alternatives, Sterling Oil is essentially exporting its fleet strategy. Lower emissions, lower running cost, same mobility.

For a security agency that moves personnel daily across Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja, the savings on fuel and maintenance can be redirected to other operational needs, while the air quality benefit is a bonus for officers and the public.

IGP Disu’s remarks suggested the Force sees the value. Beyond thanking Sterling Oil, he pointed to a wider trend: companies stepping in to fill critical logistics gaps. In a period of tight budgets, such partnerships are becoming a lifeline for mobility, training and welfare.

Not tired of such gesture, Sterling Oil says this is not the end. The company intends to continue exploring partnerships that advance cleaner transport and environmental stewardship across the communities and institutions it works with. The police donation, Barot noted, is one part of a broader long-term sustainability agenda.

That agenda sits within Sterling Oil’s identity as an indigenous oil and gas company operating in Nigeria. Its stated commitment is to safe, responsible and increasingly cleaner energy operations across upstream, marine and logistics activities.

From cutting diesel by hundreds of thousands of litres a month, to double-hulling barges in the Delta, to putting CNG buses on the road for the Police, the message is consistent: cleaner is possible, and it can scale.

As the two new buses pulled out of Force Headquarters, they carried more than officers. They carried a proof point that in Nigeria’s energy transition, the private sector can help steer, one vehicle, one community, one partnership at a time.