Got a feeling T Boone has a gas plan for Texas
Questar Expanding Natural Gas as a Transport Fuel
By Chris Morrison | February 13th, 2009 @ 3:35 am
T. Boone Pickens’ famous idea of using compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel is slowly gaining currency in parts of the western United States. Local news stations near Salt Lake City, Utah are reporting that the nearby interstates are getting more CNG filling stations, led by Questar Gas, which is tapping into government subsidies to build the stations.
Utah was one of the few places in the United States that consumers could own natural gas vehicles before Pickens began pushing his plan to use gas as a transportation fuel. The first pioneering owners of CNG cars found they could stop at commercial fueling stations and get a substantial discount on CNG compared to the cost of gas. The market expanded more quickly once gas prices hit highs last year.
But even with gas prices down, anecdotal evidence suggests demand is continuing. There may be a psychological component to the trend: In Utah, as well as nearby lightly-populated states like Montana and Idaho, buying a CNG vehicle appears to now be a rather normal idea. Not so with the rest of the country.
However, other states could also become more welcoming to CNG cars. The largest and best-positioned of those may be Texas.
Today, Texas is looking at a potential glut of gas from the Barnett Shale and some other formations. The growing gas industry in the state may find that it’s well-served by lobbying the local governments to create a new market for their product. Indeed, Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, is already doing so, except that he’s gone straight to the Feds to ask for assistance. “We want to reposition natural gas as the best-known alternative fuel in the United States … Not as an alternative to fossil fuels,” he told the Dallas Morning News.
With gas prices hovering below $2.50 per gallon, most consumers will feel little inclination to buy a new CNG car, especially during the recession. But with prices for hybrid and electric cars set to remain high for the forseeable future, and hydrogen vehicles nowhere in sight, the fuel may yet make a place for itself.
Buck
By Chris Morrison | February 13th, 2009 @ 3:35 am
T. Boone Pickens’ famous idea of using compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel is slowly gaining currency in parts of the western United States. Local news stations near Salt Lake City, Utah are reporting that the nearby interstates are getting more CNG filling stations, led by Questar Gas, which is tapping into government subsidies to build the stations.
Utah was one of the few places in the United States that consumers could own natural gas vehicles before Pickens began pushing his plan to use gas as a transportation fuel. The first pioneering owners of CNG cars found they could stop at commercial fueling stations and get a substantial discount on CNG compared to the cost of gas. The market expanded more quickly once gas prices hit highs last year.
But even with gas prices down, anecdotal evidence suggests demand is continuing. There may be a psychological component to the trend: In Utah, as well as nearby lightly-populated states like Montana and Idaho, buying a CNG vehicle appears to now be a rather normal idea. Not so with the rest of the country.
However, other states could also become more welcoming to CNG cars. The largest and best-positioned of those may be Texas.
Today, Texas is looking at a potential glut of gas from the Barnett Shale and some other formations. The growing gas industry in the state may find that it’s well-served by lobbying the local governments to create a new market for their product. Indeed, Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, is already doing so, except that he’s gone straight to the Feds to ask for assistance. “We want to reposition natural gas as the best-known alternative fuel in the United States … Not as an alternative to fossil fuels,” he told the Dallas Morning News.
With gas prices hovering below $2.50 per gallon, most consumers will feel little inclination to buy a new CNG car, especially during the recession. But with prices for hybrid and electric cars set to remain high for the forseeable future, and hydrogen vehicles nowhere in sight, the fuel may yet make a place for itself.
Buck
Views: 31
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sandstone on -
I heard Pickens interviewed today and he said there was money in the stimulus package for wind, solar and renewable energy and we needed to get those eighteen wheelers rolling on natural gas.
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Permalink Reply by LP on
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At the Energy Summit in DC yesterday, Mr Pickens explained to the group that while electric and solar powered autos are a nice idea, the big trucks can not run on that source. They can run on LNG.
Some in the group seemed to understand the concept but it appeared that many; Reed, Pelosi, Gore, B. Clinton and others in attendance had a blank stare when it comes to LNG. They don't understand natural gas as transportation fuel and they seem to have a total lack of awareness of the amount of natural gas within the U.S.
They did understand a suggestion that refining grease from fried chicken could be turned into fuel.
Sigh !
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Permalink Reply by Sandstone on
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Sort of like someone with their hands over their eyes saying, "No, I can't see your new car."
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Permalink Reply by intrepid on
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That's really encouraging.....and where was the representative from the White House when this was going on?
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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on -
LP, sorry but don't count on any help from Pelosi or Gore as that don't have a clue when it it comes to natural gas. Gore will only push it if he decides he invented natural gas.
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Permalink Reply by Sandstone on
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You joke Les B but Gore could do that very thing. You know his dad was a partner that started Occidental and in 2000 Gore still owned it. Oxy has been buying some gas fields in West Texas and CO and he may just figure out how HE can profit and jump on the bandwagon!
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Permalink Reply by Alamo on
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Remembering Al Gore's internet slip doesn't help in advancing the natural gas demand factor.
What will help--or at least not negate our desire to make natural gas the preferential transportation fuel of choice --is to contact our state and federal lawmakers and convince them that it's the high quality fuel that it is and:
1) widely abundant
2) a cleaner and superior motor fuel
3) can be a powerful stimulous for our economy in keeping significant billions of dollars in
America and providing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of new jobs in the national
transition to a natural gas/CNG fueled economy
4) serves our national security by providing America with a dependable source of
domestically produced energy and can end our very dangerous reliance on energy
from foreign countries that are less than friendly.
All of us involved in the natural gas industry from mineral owners to producers, pipelines, etc have an important part to play in making (and convincing) policy makers that all America's interests are well served in transitioning to an economy driven by natural gas.
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Permalink Reply by LP on
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Alamo...you are so right. It's in our interest to continue trying to penetrate the political blockheads and get them to understand the value and virtue of American Natural Gas.
I've said this before but it's still true that "we" in our Haynesville world have a crystal clear understanding of what natural gas can do for the prosperity of this country. But...we understand the facts...only because we have studied the subject. Our study has been motivated by our personal potential economic gain.
The rest of the country and the politicians do not understand because they have not had the motivation (that we have had) to learn. Boone Pickens has spent over 60 million dollars of his own to educate us and the politicians with his very practical energy plan but it remains up to us to put the pressure on the politicians to become aware of this huge American energy resource blessing that we have.
We (in the Haynesville world) have self interest in promoting production use of natural gas but...we also know that the entire nation will greatly benefit from energy independence. Just keeping the money sent to foreign countries for crude oil could pay off the national debt.
Well...enough from my soap box. We do need to write to the politicians. They do understand public opinion because that is the direction of votes.
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Permalink Reply by ALongview on
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The idea that we start with the big rigs is the way to go. There are only slightly over 9000 truck stop fueling stations along our major highways. It is way easier for the govt. to subsidize 9000 than every corner station. Also there are over 4 million big rigs running these roads every day. I read somewhere that they average 100k miles per year. I also read that at 5 dollar natural gas they would each spend just over 10k on fuel vs. over 40k with diesel. If you extrapolate that out for say 500k trucks or even a million trucks it makes a huge impact on demand and its not imported. Even a small percentage of these being converted would make a big difference to the NG market. If this worked well and saved people money and the environment at the same time it might in turn spur the govt. to act for the average car and driver. So my suggestion would be to contact your state and federal lawmakers and have them push to make this part of any enrgy and/or climate bill.
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