The Yangtze may soon flow with LNG-powered vessels. (Image - Wikipedia)
“Utilization of natural gas in vessels solves or alleviates many fundamental environmental problems.” – Mr. Qinan Ji, Chairman and CEO of China Natural Gas, Inc
China Natural Gas, Inc., a provider of compressed natural gas for vehicular fuel and pipeline natural gas for industrial, commercial and residential use in Xi’an, China, has received local government approval from Wuhan City, Yichang City, Xiangfan City and Huangshi City in Hubei Province to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserve stations, harbor LNG fuelling stations, and inland LNG fuelling stations in the region. The development marks the Company’s initial endeavors expanding into the natural gas market in Hubei. China Natural Gas says that currently, harbor natural gas fuelling stations are an untapped market in China.
According to the approval document of Wuhan Development and Reform Commission, the Company is allowed to build 30 inland LNG fuelling stations and 4 harbor LNG fuelling stations in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province. Other approvals include:
- Yichang Development and Reform Commission, is allowing the company to build one LNG reserve station, two harbor LNG fuelling stations, and seven inland LNG fuelling stations.
- Xiangfan Development and Reform Commission, is allowing the company to build one LNG reserve station, one harbor LNG fuelling station and four inland LNG fuelling stations.
- Huangshi Development and Reform Commission, is allowing the company to build one LNG reserve station, two harbor LNG fuelling stations, and six inland LNG fuelling stations.
Hubei Government officials commented in correspondence documents: “Utilization of natural gas satisfies the long-term need of energy conservation and environmental protection. The positive impacts of the LNG utilization include optimizing urban energy structure, easing energy shortages, reducing cost of energy consumption, and augmenting the natural gas coverage in addition to pipelines. LNG also has obvious economic and environmental advantages for transportation applications including buses, freight vehicles and ships. China Natural Gas has advanced LNG technology with safe and reliable applications and a professional service system. This new energy project will benefit the urban economy and socio-economic development.”
Mr.Qinan Ji, Chairman and CEO of China Natural Gas, Inc. commented, “We believe expanding the natural gas usage is a contribution to both global environmental protection and to China’s. The Yangtze River runs approximately 2,300 kilometers from Chongqing to Shanghai and crosses seven provinces including Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai. We plan to build natural gas fuelling stations along the Yangtze River to provide service for vessels and extend our business to river transportation, which currently represents a completely untapped market. Utilization of natural gas in vessels solves or alleviates many fundamental environmental problems such as oil-contaminated water; and solving these problems has obvious economic, social, and environmental benefits.
The Yangtze River, known as the ‘Golden Waterway,’ averages 130,000 to 150,000 in ship traffic daily.
China Natural Gas operates 24 CNG fuelling stations in Shaanxi Province and 12 CNG fuelling stations in Henan Province.
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