Energtek Inc, an Israeli based firm, is offering conversion kits for tricycle drivers to convert their vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) instead of the regular gasoline. They said that it will be 30-40% more economical than regular gasoline powered motorcycles.
Similar to LPG conversion kits, it will cost around P 15,000 for each tricycle driver. A refilling station which will tap the residual CNG from the closed down San Antonio natural gas power plant is already thought of being set up by the PNOC-EC. After 14 years of operation the 3 MW power plant is being closed down for lack of stable supply of natural gas.
In line with this also, the Department of Energy is also planning to setup 21 CNG refilling gas stations around the city. PNOC-EC meanwhile is spearheading the construction of a 420km pipeline that can supply Metro Manila with CNG.
That’s definitely good news to hear. Considering that the Philippines is abundant in CNG, it would be good to convert to this fuel instead of being at the mercy of foreign oil and the fuel smugglers who profit from the high price of gas.
I guess one question that should be asked is for how long will the San Antonio field be able to pump out CNG for public transport use? Considering that the Philippines consumes about 400,000 barrels of oil a day, the San Antonio CNG power plant was only able to produce 3MW of power and that the Philippines Natural Gas reserves stands at 107.5 billion cu m, while we both produce and consume 2.781 billion cu m of Natural gas.[source]
Category: Automotive, Natural Gas, CNG
