Posted on 11/19/2014 5:27:49 AM PST by thackney
While everyone is watching to see how low oil prices will affect U.S. shale drillers, natural gas production continues to rise. Each month, the U.S. posts new production highs (see chart), and 2014 is shaping up to be a record year for natural gas drillers. With production ratcheting upwards, the U.S. has been able to achieve record levels of storage injections, building back inventories after last winter walloped the east coast and depleted supplies.
The abundance of natural gas is allowing utilities to increasingly burn the fuel in power plants for electricity – a well-known trend that continues to accelerate.
But another sector also stands to benefit – the transportation sector. In particular, natural gas is likely to become a serious option for transportation fuels, particularly as an alternative to diesel in long haul trucking or in shorter fleet operations. It can either come in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).
There are several advantages that natural gas has over traditional diesel or gasoline powered vehicles First natural gas can be a lot cheaper on an energy equivalent basis, generally a little more than $2 per gallon. There was certainly a much bigger disparity in prices earlier this year when gasoline prices cost more than $4 per gallon, but there is still a financial gain to be had (see chart below from U.S. Department of Energy). Moreover, crude oil prices won’t stay this…
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
Full Article posted on another web site:
CNG is a great domestic alternative. More choices at the pump is good for this nation.
(in before the Gruber-lovers talk about exploding tanks)
Even better, you can fill up at home. No need to go to the pump.
Exploding what?
Tanks.
Your welcome.
Is CNG safe?
http://www.oringcngfuelsystems.com/is-cng-safe/
The answer to this is, unequivocally, yes CNG is a safe form of energy. However, there are many myths out there regarding the dangers of CNG and we would like to discuss those here. For a visual demonstration of just how safe CNG is, please check out these three videos:
Gun Test on Natural Gas Tank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irvktfQvu4M&feature=related
Dynamite Test on Natural Gas Tank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZUK-HJOfvU&feature=related
Severe Abuse Test on Natural Gas Tank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ExcJ7PaRc
New OEM natural gas vehicles are subjected to the same federal government crash tests as other vehicles. OEM natural gas vehicle fuel systems must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 303 and 304. Natural gas cylinders are much thicker and stronger than gasoline or diesel tanks. Cylinders are designed not to rupture when fully fueled over six times a day, 365 days a year, far beyond what they will see in service. They are designed for a specific lifetime from 15 up to 25 years and are required to be inspected every 3 years or 36,000 miles.Industry standards test them far beyond normal environmental and service damage risks. Cylinders must even withstand a bonfire test, crash tests, and penetration by a 30-caliber bullet without rupture!
I recall country living in the mid-west during 70’s and 80’s there were quite a few dual-fuel pickups - gasoline and gas.
Were those propane (LPG)?
—saw a few in the Black Hills about twenty years ago—you needed a preheater to make them start below about 20F-—
Where I am, gasoline is $2.99/gal. But part of that is the local/state/federal gas tax, which averages out to 49 cents/gal for gas, 50 cents/gal diesel.
If we had a government interested in energy independence, they would announce a ten year moratorium on any tax on natural gas as a vehicle fuel.
probably - can’t recall
there were also capped oil wells on farms - capped because the production was too slow to make oil companies buy.
There’s a LNG fueling station on my way to work.
It’s $1.99/gal.
Anyone have the comparative energy numbers?
I guess the brass tacks of it is - what’s the energy content per dollar, compared to gasoline at, say, $3 per gallon?
In Pennsylvania, the gasoline tax is 60.2¢/gallon, mostly state tax. 76.5¢/gallon for diesel.
http://www.api.org/state-taxes/pennsylvania.pdf
Remember that next time in the voting booth.
The big news is that the next petroleum revolution is natural to liquid fuels—especially now with new catalyst technology that makes it really cheap to make gasoline and #2 diesel fuel from natural gas—and in a form that is way cleaner-burning than gasoline and diesel fuel refined from crude oil.
Oh, and as to your last point - the elites don’t want us to use their energy.
And they’ll use gov’t to discourage it.
Here is one example:
http://www.pressroom.ups.com/Fact+Sheets/LNG+Fact+Sheet
T. Boone Picket’s company is helping make it possible, along with many others.
http://www.cnglngstations.com/
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/natural_gas_locations.html
LNG is not a good choice for an individual use, unless your vehicle runs most of the time and would never set for a week unused. CNG is a better choice for individuals, in my opinion.
Gasoline Gallon 111,800 BTU
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Gallon 71,100 BTU
http://www.energyalmanac.ca.gov/transportation/gge.html
Lots of talk about that for years. I haven't seen commercial success, just hype for investors so far.
I think the popularity of these vehicles will remain low until there are natural gas fueling stations all over.
Who wants to own a vehicle that they can't take on a long trip for fear of not being able to get fuel.
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