A marine natural gas filling station has opened in Yidu City, Hubei Province on the banks of the Yangtze River. The multipurpose station operated by Xi’an Xilan Natural Gas Co., Ltd (XXNGC) provides Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), L-CNG and gas storage and is reported by Xinhua News to be the first bunkering station to service marine transportation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
The site has capacity to supply 135,000 m3 of LNG and 30,000 m3 of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) daily.
In April 2010, XXNGC received the approval from local government authorities in Hubei Province to build LNG fueling stations, both inland and in harbors, and reserve LNG stations, along the Yangtze River. These approved LNG stations are currently under construction. The company also plans to continue development of conversion technologies and operations to modify river vessels to run on a mixture of LNG and diesel.
In August 2010, a tugboat, modified by XXNGC to operate on a mixture consisting of 70% LNG and 30% diesel, completed its maiden voyage on the Yangtze River.
As of June 30, 2013 XXNGC owned and operated 30 CNG fueling stations, including 19 CNG fueling stations in Shaanxi Province, 10 CNG fueling stations in Henan Province and 1 CNG fueling station in Hubei Province.
