- Site will provide Natural Gas to approximately 3,000 vehicles in province of Isabela
- First step toward planned conversion of 500,000 Philippine tricycle vehicles
- “CNG Lite” enables monetization of otherwise unusable natural gas resources
- Filipino government endorses Energtek’s conversion initiative
Energtek Inc. a developer of Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) technology, has inaugurated the Company’s first CNG Lite compression station in the Philippines, in the province of Isabela. Energtek intends to convert approximately 3,000 three-wheel vehicles (tricycles) in Isabela to operate on Natural Gas extracted from the San Antonio well using proprietary CNG Lite, a low-pressure conversion technology. Energtek entered into a contract in July with the Philippines National Oil Company – Exploration Company (PNOC-EC) for rights to gas extracted from the site. Since the signing of the contract, several converted tricycles have already been operating optimally on natural gas extracted from the well. Energtek intends to start converting additional vehicles during September.
The San Antonio Project is the first of Energtek’s phased plan to convert as many tricycles as possible in the Philippines. The Company aims to convert at least 500,000 tricycles over the next three to four years.
The inauguration was attended by PNOC-EC Chairman Rafael Del Pilar, Undersecretaries of Energy Ramon G. Santos, Mariano S. Salazar, and Ramon Allan Oca in addition to several local public officials. The ceremony also decommissioned the San Antonio Gas Power Plant which had operated on the site since 1994, and could no longer meet local growing electricity demand.
“The Department of Energy is eager to see most, if not all of the three million tricycles on the road in the Philippines converted to cleaner and cheaper fuel alternatives. It is our intention to support these conversion initiatives whenever possible,” said Undersecretary Santos. “Energtek is not only offering Filipino drivers a cheaper and cleaner way to fuel their tricycles, but is also helping our country make the best use of our national natural gas resources — particularly stranded gas — within the transportation sector. Together with Energtek, we are hopeful that the Philippines will become an international model for alternative fuel among small vehicles. With the full support of Filipino President Hon. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Secretary of Energy Hon. Angelo Reyes, we look forward to working together with Energtek to fulfill our conversion objective.”
The San Antonio site is a stranded gas well, meaning that its natural gas reserves are not connected to a distribution pipeline network. Stranded gases such as those in San Antonio often remain completely un-utilized due to difficulties in transportation and delivery of the gas to final consumers. Over one-third of all proven natural gas reserves worldwide remain stranded due to the challenges of building pipelines.
“Energtek is proud to inaugurate our first CNG Lite facility in the Philippines,” said Energtek CEO Lev Zaidenberg. “The Natural Gas extracted from this stranded gas well will be supplied to drivers for a fraction of the price of equivalent gasoline, providing a substantial improvement in local quality of life. Furthermore, we are utilizing an otherwise unusable local resource for the community, which will cut down on oil imports. We look forward to the ongoing commercial success of this facility and to establishing additional and larger facilities in the Philippines and throughout Southeast Asia in the coming months.”
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