UK to Ban Petrol Cars, May Cut Oil Import from Nigeria

Britain will ban the sale of petrol and diesel-fuelled cars from 2040 when all vehicles must be fully electric, British newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The ban, which follows a similar one in France, is part of the government’s much-anticipated clean air plan, UK’s Guardian newspaper also reported.

The government warned that the move was needed because of the unnecessary and avoidable impact that poor air quality was having on people’s health.

German carmaker BMW immediately announced that it had chosen its plant in Oxford, England as the location to produce an electric Mini from 2019. Earlier this month, Volvo also announced that all its car models launched after 2019 will be electric or hybrids.

The centerpiece of the UK’s plan is to ban diesel and petrol sales completely by 2040, according to reports.

By implication, the new policy could lower UK’s dependence on energy imports from European neighbours and Africa particularly Nigeria, Daily Trust findings showed.

Nigeria has over the years traded only one commodity, that is oil, with the UK, CEO Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Segun Awolowo once said.

The UK imported 2 million barrels of crude oil in the first quarter of 2017 from Nigeria, according to crude oil destination data from NNPC.

Since May last year, over 31 million barrels of crude has been shipped from Nigeria to the UK. Only Netherlands, Spain and France buy more crude from Nigeria in Europe than UK, the NNPC data showed.

On Monday, acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu warned oil-rich African countries that oil was fast disappearing and that with current trends in technology and environmental concerns, it was clear that over the next 20 to 30 years, oil would become a fading, if not a faded, product.

Osinbajo told a gathering of ministers of the African oil producers in Abuja that the world was moving in the direction of alternative and clean energy and African producers must begin to factor in these new realities.