April 21, 2011 

Peterbilt Motors is manufacturing 200 large trucks powered by liquefied natural gas for sale to a California-based firm and has added a second shift at its Denton plant as a result of growing business volume.

The 200-truck sale is to Heckmann Corp., a Palm Desert, Calif.-based company that is transitioning its tractor-trailer fleet from traditional diesel-powered trucks to natural gas-fueled trucks, Peterbilt announced today.

Heckmann CEO Richard J. Heckmann said the purchase of the 200 LNG-fueled trucks from Peterbilt will provide a “significant cost savings and optimal performance” and that the company wants to lower its "carbon footprint.”

Heckmann provides water-handling operations for oil and gas companies. Heckmann said the Peterbilt trucks will “service its customers’ natural gas wells and provide water- handling services in conjunction with...pipelines and (wastewater) disposal wells.”

Peterbilt spokeswoman Katy Troester said Heckmann will be able to refuel the trucks with LNG because it is teaming up with natural gas producer Encana “to make refueling services available” where Heckmann “operates its fleet of water-transportation vehicles.”

Natural gas currently is a much-cheaper fuel than diesel, which averages $3.99 a gallon in the Fort Worth-Arlington area, according to a report Thursday by auto club AAA, Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, recently said that the fuel cost for a compressed natural gas (CNG) passenger vehicle is less than $1.50 a gallon.

--Jack Z. Smith

Buck