CleanFuel CNG Blog

Energy producer, Apache Corporation has opened its first compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling station at Elk City, Oklahoma, enabling the company to fuel field vehicles with cleaner-burning gas produced from the company’s wells in the Anadarko Basin of western Oklahoma. The station has the capacity to refuel 100 vehicles per day. Initially, it will be used to fuel more than 40 CNG-powered Apache field vehicles.
“This is a small step; Apache is exploring ways to share the excess capacity at the Elk City refueling facility with other CNG fleet operators and build additional refueling facilities at other company locations,” G. Steven Farris, Apache’s chairman and chief executive officer said. “The biggest obstacle right now is the lack of refueling infrastructure; that’s why we had to build our own station,” Farris said. “The private sector could build adequate infrastructure to fuel many of the nation’s public and private vehicle fleets, but policy makers will need to consider appropriate incentives to accelerate development.”

“Apache’s actions raised awareness of the abundant natural gas resource in the US that can provide an immediate cost-effective means to reduce America’s dependence on imported oil”, added Farris, “until other alternative fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions become more economical to implement.”

The State of Oklahoma’s Department of Central Services Fleet Management Division recently entered into an agreement with Oklahoma based Tulsa Gas Technologies, Inc. (TGT), and CNG conversion technology manufacturer NaturalDrive Partners, LLC  to provide Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified OEM-style compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion technology for use in its vehicle fleets. TGT will provide the equipment and training necessary for fleet conversion.
DCS Fleet Management is projected to perform 60 conversions to run as dedicated natural gas vehicles for participating State agencies during the next year. Using NaturalDrive conversion technology, these full-size alternative fuel vehicles will be utilized in a variety of state government applications.

Oklahoma’s government entities with formalized CNG vehicle conversion targets in this group include the Oklahoma legislative branch, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and Oklahoma Department of Central Services.

Laboratory results for the State’s “first in class” model year 2008 CNG Impala showed a 75% reduction in oxides of nitrogen, the primary cause of smog and haze in metropolitan areas as well as a 66% reduction in carbon monoxide for a combined reduction of harmful environmental pollutants of 222 pounds over the life of the vehicle.

NaturalDrive design innovations include an advanced fuel injection control system that works in concert with the vehicle’s OBD-II (onboard computer system) to ensure emissions and fuel efficiency meet or exceed both environmental protection agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration CAFE standards.