INDUSTRY NEWS
Ferus is operating the first three LNG tractors in Alberta, Canada and said it plans to convert its entire truck fleet over the next five years.
To support the LNG supply chain, Encana and Ferus LNG have entered into a joint venture, part of which involves building specialized
mobile storage and dispensing equipment.
LNG GETTING MORE MOBILE
North America has natural gas and more on- and off-road fleets are seeing it as a way to save money on fuel
BY CHAD ELMORE
Natural gas is a clean-burning, domestically sourced fuel that has heated homes and
driven stationary engines for decades
and has long been an important
part of the United States’ strategy to
move toward greener fuel solutions
and energy independence. Recent
discoveries of new reserves, along
with new extraction methods, have
made natural gas a viable option in
high-horsepower applications such
as mining and rail, potentially saving
fleet owners millions of dollars in fuel
charges in the process.
In short, it seems clear that America
is merging onto the natural gas highway and it’s accelerating.
A number of important milestones
were reached almost simultaneously,
driven largely by shale gas from
zones with names such as Marcellus,
Bakken and Eagle Ford. The U.S.
Energy Information Administration,
the Washington, D.C.-based statisti-
cal and analytical agency within the
U.S. Dept. of Energy, projects U.S.
natural gas production to increase
from 23 trillion cu.ft. in 2011 to 33. 1
trillion cu.ft. in 2040, a 44% increase.
Most of this increase is due to a pro-
jected growth in shale gas produc-
tion, forecast to increase from 7. 8
trillion cu.ft. in 2011 to 16. 7 trillion
cu.ft. in 2040.
