United Arab Emirates
At least 16 more CNG fueling stations are planned for the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi, and two other UAE cities. 9 of the 16 will house compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion and installation workshops. More stations are being mooted in a national drive to reduce air pollution. The Technical Committee responsible for implementing CNG as a cleaner alternative says significant progress has been made regarding the implementation of CNG as an alternative fuel in cars in the UAE.
A recent report issued by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi said that the government hopes to convert about 20 percent of the taxis and official vehicles to CNG by 2012. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which operates CNG stations in the UAE, reports that a traditional taxi could recover the investment made for conversion into a period of 18 months.  Natural gas costs about US$1.08 per GGE, while regular gasoline sells for about US$1.56 per gallon. The introduction of CNG in the United Arab Emirates, which has the sixth largest oil reserves in the world, was originally proposed in 2005, so the shift to CNG is moving quickly.
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