USE OF CNG AS AUTO FUEL PROLIFERATING

The move toward use of compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel continues to gather momentum.

Among recent developments:

The first dedicated CNG vehicles mass produced by U.S. automakers have rolled off assembly lines and are being added to fleets across the U.S.
MESA Inc., Dallas, has extended its offer to convert fleet vehicles to CNG (OGJ, July 20, p. 42) to Oklahoma and Nevada.
Enfuels Corp. and O'Rourke Petroleum Products, both of Houston, plan to open six CNG refueling stations in Houston.
Department of Energy awarded 10 states and the District of Columbia $743,505 in grants to buy about 40 CNG powered buses.
New Zealand businessmen are promoting their CNG technology to officials in Mexico City as a means of reducing that city's severe air pollution problems.

U.S. CNG VEHICLES

The three major U.S. automakers began production of dedicated CNG fueled vehicles earlier this year.

Consolidated Natural Gas Co., Pittsburgh, said the automakers have built about 3,000 dedicated CNG vehicles to date, and it has added to its fleet 17 General Motors Corp. Sierra pickups, four Ford Motor Co. Crown Victoria passenger cars, and a Chrysler Corp. full size van, all designed to run on CNG.

Consolidated began converting its fleet to natural gas in 1991 and now boasts about 1,100 natural gas vehicles in its fleet and those of its subsidiaries.

Early in September Southern California Gas Co. employees began driving 50 of the first dedicated CNG vehicles to roll off U.S. assembly lines.

The utility bought 130 GM Sierra CNG trucks for delivery this year and will add 100 in 1993 under a plan disclosed late last year (OGJ, Nov. 25, 1991, p. 36).

"Our first 130 vehicles will mean a reduction of 9 tons of air pollutants in a year," said Richard D. Farman, the utility's chairman.

Farman said SoCalGas will install three CNG refueling stations/month for the next 1 1/2 years.

GM will build 2,500 Sierra CNG trucks this year, each with an operating range of about 160 miles, SoCalGas said.

San Francisco's Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is one of 24 gas utilities in the U.S. and Canada taking part in a 3 year evaluation of Ford's CNG fueled Crown Victoria.

PG&E bought four of the cars and will periodically deliver them to service sites for data retrieval from onboard computer systems. Ford also will gather data on emissions, fuel economy, and system durability and reliability.

MESA'S OFFERS

MESA offered to finance conversion to CNG of about 215,000 fleet vehicles in Oklahoma City and Tulsa and as many as 125,000 fleet vehicles in Clark County, Nev., including Las Vegas.

MESA's program, called MESA Environmental-Clean Fleet, includes financing and installing natural gas fueling sites.

In exchange for the conversions, MESA plans to recoup its investment and earn a profit through fuel supply agreements that call for fleet operators to purchase natural gas from MESA at or below prevailing gasoline prices.

MESA said a gallon equivalent of natural gas now sells for about half as much as a gallon of gasoline.

MESA Chairman Boone Pickens predicts that by 2000 about 20 million U.S. vehicles will be powered by CNG. Currently there are 187 million cars and trucks operating on U.S. roads.

Pickens cautioned it takes at least 6 months before conversions can begin, citing regulatory hurdles and individual fleet analyses that must be completed.

Meantime, MESA and Southwest Gas, Phoenix's natural gas distribution company, completed negotiations for a pipeline tariff and supply agreement for CNG fueling sites in Phoenix.

The contract outlines the responsibilities of each company in developing the Phoenix CNG vehicle market (OGJ, June 15, p. 31).

HOUSTON INFRASTRUCTURE

Enfuels' and O'Rourke's plan to open six refueling stations in Houston marks the second phase of Enfuel's program to establish a city-wide CNG infrastructure.

Enfuels and Chevron Corp. opened the city's first public retail CNG station last July.

Enfuels is targeting fleet vehicles as primary customers because of their vehicle configuration and fuel use patterns.

"In the near future, drivers of CNG vehicles will no longer worry about getting from one side of town to the other," said Enfuels General Manager Lee Papayoti.

Enfuels noted CNG refueling sites are being opened in the U.S. at the rate of one a week.

Enfuels will provide conversions and other CNG related functions at its Natural Gas Vehicle Technology Center, set to open in October in Houston. The center will offer conversions, emissions validation, and training to maintenance and converter personnel.

Enfuels is a joint venture of Enron Corp., Transco Energy Co., Entex Inc., and AutoGas Systems Inc.

DOE TEST PROGRAM

Ten states and District of Columbia will participate in a pilot program to test the performance of school buses running on CNG in a major expansion of DOE's alternate fuels test program.

The program began earlier this year with the delivery of eight CNG powered school buses to Wood County W. Va.

DOE said it received 26 applications from 23 states and the District of Colombia to participate in the program.

Winners and grants are, Arizona $66,000, Maryland $78,200, Missouri $54,000, Kentucky $68,000, New Mexico $90,972, New York $64,936, Pennsylvania $66,200, Vermont $33,197, Utah $78,200, West Virginia $45,000, and District of Columbia $98,000.

The grants will pay for the difference in cost between conventional and alternate fueled buses. The states will administer the grants, passing them along to school fleet purchasers.

The projects will help researchers determine how alternate fueled vehicles perform in various climates, altitudes and terrains, and grant recipients will be required to provide data to DOE on performance that will be collected at DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center in Golden, Colo.

CNG FOR MEXICO CITY

New Zealand businessmen visited Mexico City last month to discuss with Mexican government officials the possibility of establishing a CNG network and converting vehicles in the city to CNG.

The New Zealand team, including representatives of Transport Fuel Systems Ltd., a company offering vehicle conversions, and Intermech Ltd., a refueling station and compressor manufacturer, met with the mayor of Mexico City, Mexico's health and transport and communications ministers, and a representative of state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to promote its technology.

The New Zealand group has carried out CNG conversions in South America, Asia, Europe, and North America, Notimex Mexican News Service reported. In Bogota it is laying pipelines to link CNG refueling sites with the city's gas distribution network, and about 70,000 public transport vehicles have been converted in Buenos Aires.

Hugh Fulton, director of Intermech, said 3,000-5,000 vehicles/month are converted to CNG in New Zealand.

About 100,000 vehicles in New Zealand operate on CNG, with 500 refueling stations, Notimex reported.

Fulton said tests conducted in New Zealand show CNG is the second safest fuel after diesel, followed by gasoline, then liquefied petroleum gas.

Bruce Middleton, New Zealand's ambassador to Mexico, said he hoped Mexico would use his country's technology, and in the future Mexico could export the technology to other countries.