Fleet

A southwest link between Los Angeles and Houston on what is billed as “America’s Natural Gas Highway” has been established with the opening of a fueling station in El Paso, TX, according to fuel supplier and station developer Clean Energy Fuels Corp. of Newport Beach, CA.

AT&T passed a milestone Wednesday with the delivery of the 8,000th compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle for its fleet operations at a public fueling station at the St. Louis Lambert Airport.

Applied Natural Gas Fuels (ANGF) recently completed a purchase of 31 acres in Midlothian, TX, for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility that is expected to open early next year.

While advancements in fueling infrastructure and technology for natural gas vehicles (NGV) are expected to continue this year, one analyst also expects growing competition globally for fuel and vehicles to support an accelerated shift to NGV use in places like China.

California-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. reported Thursday that customers increased natural gas vehicle (NGV) orders by 70% this year compared with 2012, and the public transit sector helped lead the way.

Duke Energy Corp. plans to add another natural gas-fired power plant to its fleet to replace its retired Crystal River Nuclear Plant in Citrus County, FL.

Statoil plans to boost its North American production from less than 100,000 boe/d in 2011 to more than 500,000 boe/d in 2020. In the Bakken and Three Forks shale plays of North Dakota, the company said it will get its oil to market through greatly expanded use of rail transport beginning in September.

Pennsylvania midstream operator UGI Energy Services Inc. on Wednesday launched plans to replace the diesel now powering its Marcellus Shale drilling fleet with liquefied natural gas (LNG). UGI’s plan mirrors a pilot initiated by EQT Corp. earlier this month to convert its Marcellus diesel rigs (see Shale Daily, July 6).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has launched a natural gas vehicle (NGV) website to help public- and private-sector fleet operators decide if they want to convert part or all of their operations to NGVs. The website offers information on both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) options. Inspired by the state’s booming shale gas play, Pennsylvania’s new state law (Act 13) passed earlier this year (see Shale Daily, May 11) authorized DEP to establish the Natural Gas Energy Development Program to distribute $20 million in grants during a three-year period to help pay for the purchase and conversion costs of NGVs. The website (www.dep.state.pa.us) section on the “Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program” offers more details on the grants as well as information on NGV conversions and fueling.