Love's Country Store has added compressed natural gas in Kingfisher as part of its partnership with Chesapeake Energy Corp.

BY JAY F. MARKS jmarks@opubco.com Oklahoman    1

Published: February 26, 2011

KINGFISHER — About 40 people huddled braved freezing temperatures and snow flurries Thursday to celebrate the opening of the first compressed natural gas fueling station at a Love's Country Store.

To celebrate the opening of a new compressed natural gas station in Kingfisher, Chesapeake Energy Corp. donated $2,500 and 10 laptop computers to Kingfisher Public Schools. "We can't thank Chesapeake enough for its support of our school district", Kingfisher Superintendent Don Scales said. "This donation of funds and computers will help us to provide much needed technology for our students, a good deal of which we could not have been able to provide otherwise. During a time of budget cuts, this corporate support gives us a boost in the right direction."

  The Oklahoma City-based chain of convenience stores and truck stops dallied with the gasoline alternative in the 1980s, but spokeswoman Jenny Love Meyer said this time is different.

Now Love's is partnering with industry giant Chesapeake Energy Corp., which will supply natural gas for the fueling station.

CNG was selling for $1.39 a gasoline gallon equivalent Thursday, while gas as $3.29 a gallon.

Chesapeake has been an advocate for CNG as a transportation fuel.

The company is in the process of converting its own fleet of about 4,000 trucks to run on CNG, a move that will give Chesapeake one of the top green fleets in the country, Chief Operating Officer Steve Dixon said.

He said Chesapeake has led by example in pushing for increased use of CNG, which is clean, affordable and abundant.

Taylor Shinn, Chesapeake's senior director of corporate development, said state government and business leaders have done a good job in laying the groundwork for Oklahoma to capitalize on the natural gas produced in the state.

Oklahoma has about 40 public CNG fueling stations in Oklahoma, according to Central Oklahoma Clean Cities, including 11 in the Oklahoma City metro area.

“Oklahoma is setting a strong example for the rest of the nation on how to develop a CNG infrastructure network to serve the public and fleet operators,” Shinn said.

“This is accomplished when the public and private sector work together and a respected retailer such as Love's embraces the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel.”

Oklahoma Energy Secretary Mike Ming said the opening of another new CNG station was a welcome development for the state.

“I think everyone realizes CNG is a great fuel,” he said. “Getting the stations out here is a great step.”

Meyer said the Kingfisher station, which will help fuel Chesapeake's fleet in the area, is a test case for Love's.

The company doesn't have any definitive plans to add CNG at any of its other 260 locations, she said.

Love's offered CNG at a couple of Oklahoma locations in the 1980s, but there wasn't sufficient demand for the fuel. Meyer said the circumstances have changed.

“This is the first of what we hope will be more CNG fueling stations at Love's locations across Oklahoma and the rest of the country as the market develops,” she said.

Demand for CNG hasn't developed enough to interest QuikTrip, another Oklahoma-based convenience store chain.

“Right now it's just not on our radar,” spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said. “It's like any other commodity. If there was a huge consumer demand for it, we'd be doing it.”