SOVIETS' CNG TECHNOLOGY PROMOTED IN U.S.

Compressed natural gas continues to be a major player in the push for alternate motor fuels.

A CNG program has been under way for 40 years in the U.S.S.R., and Moscow CNG research and development company Gaztop is soliciting U.S. interest in its natural gas fuel systems and vehicle converters.

Elsewhere in U.S. CNG action:

• Pittsburgh has taken delivery of five CNG buses.

• The first mass produced CNG pickup truck in the U.S. was unveiled this month in Los Angeles.

• The nation's first public CNG refueling network opened this month in Texas.

GAZTOP

Yakov Mkrtychan, Gaztop's president and chief executive officer, and Oleg Balachevtsev, chief adviser on foreign relations for Gazprom, the Soviet Union's natural gas production company, visited the U.S. this month to promote Gaztop's CNG technology.

Gaztop was founded in 1988 by Mkrtychan and has developed a CNG cylinder and a CNG conversion kit.

Gaztop said its CNG "metal-plastic" cylinder is twice as light as conventional steel cylinders. Gaztop's conversion kit can be adapted to convert airplanes, helicopters, boats, trains, and tractors to run on CNG or propane.

While CNG use in the U.S. has been increasing the last 10 years, Mkrtychan said the U.S.S.R. has been using CNG as a vehicle fuel for the past 40 years.

PITTSBURGH'S CNG BUSES

Bus Industries of America Inc. (BIA) has manufactured 5 CNG buses for the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh. The buses are part of a nationwide testing program sponsored by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration designed to test alternate fuels. Other cities included in testing are Altoona, Pa., Washington, D.C., and Cleveland.

Total cost of the buses is about $1.2 million, each seats 44 people, and they were expected to be in service by mid-November.

Equitable Gas Co. gave Port Authority Transit $500,000 to help build a CNG refueling station at its garage.

BIA Pres. Donald Sheardown said the buses are less expensive to operate and noted officials in Ontario have saved $6,000/year/bus compared with diesel buses.

GMC'S CNG TRUCK

General Motors Corp. and Southern California Gas Co., Los Angeles, have unveiled the nation's first mass produced truck to run solely on natural gas.

The 1992 GMC Sierra 3/4 ton pickup truck is the first natural gas vehicle designed, built, and warrantied by a major U.S. automaker.

SoCalGas expects to purchase 100 of the first 2,000 production model trucks in April 1992, when the vehicles will be made available through GMC truck dealers.

GM said initially trucks are being targeted to fleet customers with CNG refueling facilities.

But SoCalGas has plans for the nation's largest program to help commercialize CNG vehicles, which if approved would create a network of 51 CNG refueling sites by the end of 1993 (OGJ, July 8, p. 29).

Jack Smith, SoCalGas natural gas vehicle marketing manager said, "We envision 80,000 natural gas vehicles on the road in this region, supported by a network of 1,300 fueling stations by the end of the century.

"Natural gas is domestically produced and abundantly available at stable prices. As such, natural gas will make a significant contribution toward solving two of our country's most pressing problems, improving air quality and reducing our reliance on foreign energy sources and associated unstable prices."

CNG REFUELING NETWORK

Atmos Energy Corp., Dallas, opened the nation's first public retail CNG refueling network on Nov. 20, serving West Texas.

Refueling facilities were opened at Shell Oil Co. stations in Lubbock and Odessa, Tex., and at a Texaco Inc. station in Amarillo.

The facilities serve both local and regional traffic, but are targeting fleet vehicles.

Charles Vaughan, Atmos president and chief executive officer, said the number of fleet vehicles committed to using the facilities has already exceeded Atmos' forecast for the first year of operation. Atmos has arranged for automobile dealerships in all three areas to handle converting vehicles to CNG.

Atmos will open a refueling site in Lafayette, La., on Dec. 4, which will be that state's first public CNG facility.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.