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Next year already is shaping up as another growth spurt for natural gas as a transportation fuel, based on recent announcements. American Honda will be coming off a record sales year for its compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic models, which will have added styling and features next year, but those 2013 cars will not be on the market until all of the 2012 CNG Civics are sold, the company said at the end of November. Ford F-450 and F-550 trucks are being converted for utility and other fleet work by Seattle, WA-based World CNG and by Vancouver, BC-based Westport Innovations. World is providing dedicated CNG conversions and new F-550 Ford trucks, using a bodymaker, Caseco Manufacturing and its Oklahoma City-based installation partner, Clear Sky CNG. Westport said by mid-2013 it will have converted F-450 and F-550 CNG bifuel trucks outfitted at its Kentucky Integration Center, a Ford-qualified NGV modifier. Separately, the city of El Paso, TX, has contracted with Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems to design, build and operate three CNG fueling stations on city property to fuel city-owned and leased vehicles.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) will focus on two areas as it investigates the recent natural gas explosion on the Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts’ system that rocked Springfield, MA — when the sidewalk markings indicating the location of the distribution system were made and why they were incorrect, a department spokeswoman told NGI.

Lower 48 U.S. natural gas production during September increased by 0.6%, or 0.45 Bcf/d, from August and was up by nearly 3.9%, or 2.73 Bcf/d, from a year ago, according to the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Lower 48 U.S. natural gas production during September increased by 0.6%, or 0.45 Bcf/d, from August and was up by nearly 3.9%, or 2.73 Bcf/d, from a year ago, according to the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). September production was 73.05 Bcf/d. The revised figure for August production was 72.6 Bcf/d, and September 2011 production was 70.32 Bcf/d.

Natural gas is little more than an afterthought in a recent Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) report that recommends a combination of distributed generation and demand-side resources be applied as soon as possible to make up for the continuing outage at the 2,200 MW San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Songs) along the Southern California coast.

The Bakken Shale may be booming, but Oneok Partners LP’s recent open season for the proposed Bakken Crude Express Pipeline was a bust, and the project has been scrapped, the partnership said Tuesday.

Natural gas vehicles (NGV) are finding growing demand throughout North America, including Mexico, according to presentations at the recent NGV Global 2012 conference in Mexico City. Tepeapulco, Mexico-based Dina Camiones said it has an order for 50 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fueled intercity-suburban route buses that would be built in 2013 for use in the Guadalajara area. With a range of more than 500 miles, the buses include 8.9-liter ISL G engines from Cummins Westport and advanced carbon fiber-on-aluminum CNG fuel cylinders from Luxfer.

North Dakota continues to set new records for oil and natural gas production, but it also continues to see more flared gas, according to officials.

Tapping all of the potential in U.S. shale natural gas isn’t a given; it requires changes to, and investment in, basic energy infrastructure, including an expansion of the U.S. pipeline and storage network, according to KKR & Co. LP.