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Natural gas stations ready by end of year
posted on 28/01/2009
 As many as 10,000 cars a day could be fuelled with compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of petrol within a year, energy officials said yesterday.
The nation's leading oil company, Adnoc, plans to build 16 CNG pumping stations by year-end, marking the start of a national distribution network.
"In Adnoc Distribution we are actually starting a new business,” said Clark Munro, a sales engineer from Adnoc Distribution's natural gas division, as he announced the plans at the City Gas Mena conference.
"Adnoc Distribution and Abu Dhabi have taken the lead in the UAE, and now will further co-operate with other authorities in other emirates to start a national network of NGV [natural gas vehicle] fuelling stations.”
The company would also establish conversion workshops where petrol-run vehicles could be fitted with natural gas tanks in the boot. Cars fuelled by CNG, which is lead-free and contains mostly methane, produce 90 per cent less carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that contributes to air pollution, than regular petrol, the Environment
Agency – Abu Dhabi says.
CNG also produces less of most other air pollutants than petrol, including 25 per cent less carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas associated with manmade global warming, and no lung-irritating particulates. But getting members of the public to use CNG would take time, Mr. Munro said at the conference at the Sheraton Hotel and Resort, and the shift would ultimately be driven by price.
The cost of gas is listed as Dh1.34 a kilogram at the two CNG test pumps at the station on Al Meena Road near Al Salam Street.
A gallon of special petrol at Adnoc costs Dh6.25, while a gallon of e-plus is Dh5.75.
One gallon of petrol is equal to 3.08kg of natural gas, according to the instructions, which would mean saving more than Dh2 a gallon.
The UAE's natural gas reserves are the fifth largest in the world, but are not easily accessible.
Mr. Munro acknowledged that the "availability in Abu Dhabi is small”, but said supply of natural gas for vehicles was "not an issue”.
Another arm of Adnoc, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco) has awarded the contract for building and maintaining the 16 stations to a Munich-based company, Bauer Kompressoren.
Representatives of the German company at the conference said they expected to have the stations open by the end of the year.
Adnoc will first focus on converting fleet vehicles, including the emirate's silver taxis, utility company fleets, Adnoc's own vehicles and Armed Forces and police vehicles.
TransAD, the emirate's taxi regulator, confirmed it would start converting 10 per cent of its fleet for CNG once the fuel is available.
Of the 16 new stations, nine would be in Abu Dhabi, five in Sharjah and two in Al Ain. The Abu Dhabi stations would include Khalifa City, Ghantoot and Officers City. Adnoc will be looking to add more stations, Mr. Munro said.
At present 35 vehicles have been converted to run on CNG as part of a pilot project.
Some countries have embraced CNG use for vehicles, including Pakistan, where more than 9 million vehicles run on it. In 2001, buses, taxis and auto rickshaws were all converted to CNG and the move has been credited with improving air quality in the city.
When a vehicle is converted, the driver can choose which fuel to use by flipping a switch in the vehicle. The tanks take up a lot of space in the boot, which is why some consumers resist changing.
Adnoc is preparing a campaign to educate on CNG's environmental benefits, and to assure it is safe. Motorists had mixed feelings about CNG yesterday.
Bauer Kompressoren, the Munich-based company awarded the contract to build and maintain the 16 stations, said tests had proven the cylinders were resilient.
The company said the tanks had brake valves so they would not explode. Leakage could be a problem, but natural gas is lighter than air and quickly dissipates.
The UAE's natural gas reserves are the fifth largest in the world but are not easily accessible. Mr. Munro acknowledged "availability in Abu Dhabi is small”, but said supply was not an issue.
Countries around the world have embraced CNG, including Pakistan, where there are more than nine million vehicles running on it.
In the Indian capital of New Delhi, buses, taxis and auto rickshaws were all converted to CNG in 2001. The move was credited with improving air quality in the city, according to a 2007 study by Urvashi Narain and Alan Krupnick. – The National
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