Indiana-based Cummins Inc. said Monday it will produce dual fuel natural gas/diesel engines for the high-horsepower market including oil and gas fields throughout the nation. The first in a series of products will be aimed at oil and gas well servicing applications with its production beginning in mid-2013. QSK50 Tier 2 will be the first new dual fuel engine followed by other models in the QSK series of engines, Cummins said. The new products will be capable of meeting new federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 emissions standards. Cummins said the high-horsepower dual fuel engines will operate with common integrated controls that allow what it called a “seamless transition” from diesel to a dual fuel blend of diesel and natural gas operation. Substitution rates using natural gas will vary from 50% to 70%, depending on applications and the duty cycle. The dual fuel option will be available in both the new engines and through retrofit of existing QSK engines.

Regulators in British Columbia (BC) are investigating allegations that a competitive natural gas supplier in the province has arranged multi-year contracts with various business customers without the owners’ knowledge. Ontario-based Active Energy, which serves three other provinces in addition to BC, is accused of forging customer signatures on supply contracts, according to complaints to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). The company and BCUC did not respond to requests for comment. Since 2007, BC’s provincial government deregulated natural gas, allowing independent companies to sell gas supplies to retail customers. Customers can buy their own supplies and have them delivered through utility Fortis Gas‘ infrastructure.

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