Volume 1 • #3 • Number 3 • February 2006

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ThailandOEM opens plant to produce CNG car

PakistanCountry overview

February 2006

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Summary

Korea300-14, Changchon-Ri, Namsan-Myun,

Chuncheon-Si, Kangwon-Do, 200-911 KOREA

Tel : +82-33-260-3400Fax: +82-33-261-9184

E-mail: asia@ngvgroup.com

ItalyVicolo Gonzaga 13

46045 Marmirolo (Mn), Italia. Tel.: +39 0376 294055

info@thegvr.com • www.thegvr.com

ArgentinaUspallata 711, CP 1268, Argentina

Tel./Fax: +54 11 4307-4559 / 5201 / 4300-6137 E-mail: info@prensavehicular.com

www.prensavehicular.com

The NetherlandsHolland Office Center • Kruisweg 813 - A

2132 NG Hoofddorp - NederlandTel. +31 23 554 3059 • Fax: +31 23 557 9065

info@thegvr.com • www.thegvr.com

BrazilAv. Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, 500 • sala912. Cep: 22.020-000 • Rio de Janeiro • RJ.

Tel: +55 21 2255-0830 / 2236-4210 e 2545-7452Folhadognv@redalternativa.net •

f.gnv@terra.com.br www.folhadognv.com

Asian NGV Communications is a publication ofNGV Communications Group, publishing houseand fairs-conferences organizer: www.ngvgroup.comIn Europe, we print The Gas Vehicles Report,GVR, and www.ngvguide.com, the InternationalNGV Guide. In Argentina, the Group publishes PrensaVehicular, Argentine CNG Guide, maps, books andbrochures while in Brazil, Folha do GNV, BrazilianNGV Guide, maps and posters, among others. More info: www.ngvgroup.comThe signed articles are exclusive responsibility ofthe authors, as well as advertising companies andagencies are responsible for the published ads.

Country overview:

PakistanNGV industry started in late 1980

when Pakistani government established a CNG station which

was built by Hydrocarbon Development Institute

of Pakistan. 10

Natural gas business inTurkey

13 Peru: President Toledo declaresNGV use to be of national interest

21

OEM NGV Price AdvantageOEM NGV passenger car in Asia

22Natural Gas as Motor Fuel inArmenia

16

Israel Waiting for NGVs to enter

18 News, Products & TechnologyInternational CNG signage

24

Natural gas vehiclesthe Australian scene - Part 2

20 StatisticsAsia figures

25

Copies distribution

We print and mail to 26countries about 1.500 copiesaddressed to governmentalrelated offices, OEM and Oil &Gas companies, associations,related NGV industries, refu-elling stations, workshops andsuppliers, according the following list (some figuresrounded):

Armenia: 0.4%Australia: 4.1%Azerbaijan: 0.3%Bangladesh: 5.0%Brunei Darussalam: 0.1%

China: 7.8%Egypt: 1.9%India: 9.3%Indonesia: 1.7%Iran: 4.9%Israel: 1.1%Japan: 10.2%Korea: 7.4%Malaysia: 6.6%Myanmar: 0.2%New Zealand: 2.8%Pakistan: 3.7%Philippines: 3.6%Russia: 7.3%Singapore: 3.2%Sri Lanka: 0.1%Taiwan: 0.3%Thailand: 5.3%

Turkey: 10.5%United Arab Emirates: 2.1%Vietnam: 0.1%In addition, the magazine issent to thousands more readersby e-mail (.pdf) and is alsoonline in www.ngvgroup.comIf your NGV business is inAsia, advertise with us.

Asian NGV Communications300-14, Changchon-Ri,Namsan-Myun, Chuncheon-Si,Kangwon-Do,200-911 KOREATel : +82-33-260-3419Fax: +82-33-261-9184e-mail: asia@ngvgroup.com

Iran: the impressive currentnumbers and targetsIranian CNG industry started in 1975with a conversion of 1.200 taxis and private passenger cars in Shiraz city inSouth-West of Iran, as a pilot project. 12

From Bangladesh to Turkey,from Pakistan to EgyptMarket potential anda growing experience 4

From Bangladesh to Turkey, from Pakistanto Egypt Market potential and a growing experience

Asian Development Bank(ADB), Bangladesh conti-nues with its Dhaka CleanFuel Project (DFCP) to con-vert 10,000 gasoline vehi-cles to NGVs and to build 6major CNG stations. TheDFCP was started in 2002.This CNG project contem-plates, among other aspects,the purchase of 300 buses,2,000 rickshaws and theconstruction of 20 minorfuelling stations.

Pakistan, a big NGV coun-try (1st in Asia and 3rdworld-widely) increased itsNGV population by 47% and113% for fuelling stations:700,000 NGVs and 766 fue-lling stations is the 2005 fi-nal country figure. With asubstantial funding and favo-rable regulations, Pakistan isexpecting an extra 5,000CNG buses in 2006-2010.

Dear readers,Last year has been a good

year for the NGV industry inAsia from the political pointof view as many politicians inour continent issued new tar-gets and decrees to supportour industry. Now we moveforward to the implementa-tion stage, to make those tar-gets real.And more countries-/governments will considernatural gas in the transporta-tion sector.Following the pre-vious edition’s overview onmarket potential in someAsian countries1,we now des-cribe current NGV activitiesin several South and South-West Asian countries. A mar-ket for vehicle conversions,especially cars/LDVs.A promi-sing market for this industryas gas reserves are abundantin these countries.

With funding from the

Iran moved along from the19th rank to the worldwidetop 10 NGV countries in2004-20052. An impressivegrowth within one-year pe-riod. With almost 80,000NGVs in December 2005,Iran made it to the 8th placeworld-widely and 4th in Asia.And it will march forward ra-pidly with its plan to convert600.000 public, private andgovernmental cars to NGV.The current 160 fuelling sta-tions will be increased to 400this year.Two national OEMswill also produce 600,000NGVs in 5 years time.This isall possible with a strong go-vernment support. Additio-nally, a local OEM, Zamyad,plans to produce 2,000 CNGbuses/year with Daewoo Bus.

The municipality in SharjahState in United Arab Emirates(UAE) has passed a bill to con-vert 200 vehicles to CNGVs.Together with two other sta-tes, Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain,Sharjah municipality has deci-ded to operate NGVs too.

The Ministry of Petroleumof Egypt is working on a CNGmaster plan for the coming20 years.The target for 2007is to have 100,000 NGVs.Thatmeans about 40,000 morethan today’s number. The fo-cus is most likely still on taxisbesides micro buses, conti-nuing the success of the "GasCard" system3. The govern-ment also plans to convert itsown fleet within the next 5years. In 2002-2005, in the socalled "Spreading and Gro-wing Stage" of the EgyptianNGV programme, the CNGV

February 2006

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population increased by27,000 with 13 additionalfuelling stations. The expec-ted 40,000 vehicles will berefuelled by another 17 newstations in 2006-2007. Cu-rrent challenges for localcompanies are to decreasevehicle conversion cost, tomanufacture dedicated/bi-fuel NGVs and to launch "Ca-pital Taxi" project in Cairo.Egypt, as well as Korea andBrazil are countries wherediesel is not allowed to fuelLDVs. And if CNG to dieselprice advantage increases alot, there is a bigger possibi-lity to accelerate a USAID fun-ding programme to buy im-ported 50 bus chassis for theCairo Transport Authority andGreater Cairo Bus Company.Aforeign OEM has reported itsplan to send 275 CNG busesto Alexandria Public TransportAuthority and to both of theabove mentioned publictransport companies in 2006.

Currently, Turkey holdsgood potentials for HDV/busmarket.About 400 more CNGbuses will be bought by mu-nicipalities in Ankara city.

Notes:1 See also the previous issue ofAsian NGV Communication-s/ANGVeC.To receive the #1and #2 issue in .pdf format justask asia@ngvgroup.com. Moredetailed info is also available inthis#3 edition.2 See statistics in the last twopages of this magazine3 A conversion payment systemwhere the loan is paid back th-rough the differences of gasoli-ne and CNG fuel prices every ti-me the drivers refuel their con-verted taxi with CNG.

February 2006

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February 2006

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February 2006

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February 2006

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20052.Sebuah perkembanganyang pesat dalam waktu satutahun. Dengan jumlah NGVmendekati 80.000 pada De-cember 2005, Iran menempa-ti posisi ke 8 dunia dan no-mer 4 di Asia. Negara ini akanmaju dengan cepat sehubun-gan dengan rencana konver-sinya untuk memodifikasi600.000 kendaraan privat danpemerintah, dan transportasiumum menjadi NGV. Seratusenam puluh gas stasion yangsedang beroperasi saat iniakan bertambah jumlahnyamenjadi 400 stasion tahun2006 ini. Dua pabrik kenda-raan nasional akan 600,000NGVs dalam waktu 5 tahunmendatang. Semua ini di-mungkinan dengan bantuankuat dari pemerintah. Sebuahpabrik kendaraan local, Zam-yad, berencana memproduksi2,000 CNG bus/tahun den-gan Daewoo Bus.

Pemerintah local dari Shar-jah State di Saudi Arabia telahmengeluarkan maklumat un-tuk menkonversi 200 kenda-raan ke kendaraan berbahanbakar CNG. Selain Sharjah, lo-cal pemerintah dari Abu Dha-bi dan Al-Ain states juga me-mutuskan untuk mengguna-kan NGV.

Menteri Petroleum Mesirsedang mendesain CNG mas-ter plan untuk 20 tahun men-datang. Mesir menargetkanpengoperasian 100,000 NGVpada tahun 2007. Itu berartisekitar 40,000 tambahanNGV dari jumlah saat ini. Me-lanjutkan sukses dari "GasCard" sistem3, taxi dan mikrobus masih akan menjadi focuspada saat ini. Pemerintah Me-sir juga berencana memodifi-kasi armadanya dalam jangkawaktu 5 tahun ke depan. Ditahun 2002-2005, pada ting-kat "Penyebaran dan Pengem-bangan" dari NGV program diMesir, jumlah kendaraan ber-bahan bakar CNG bertambah27.000 buah dengan 13 gasstation baru. Sekitar 40.000

Para pembaca yang terhormat,Tahun 2005 adalah tahun

yang baik di segi politik bagiindustri kendaraan berbahanbakar gas alam (NGV) di Asia.Di tahun tersebut, banyak po-litisi Asia yang mengeluarkankebijakan dan target baru un-tuk menyuport industri kitaini. Kini kita memasuki tahappenerapan untuk mencapaitarget tersebut. Untuk me-lengkapi gambaran pangsapasar Asia1 di edisi yang lalu,kini kami akan menggambar-kan aktivitas NGV di bebera-pa negara Asia Selatan danAsia Barat Daya. Regio inimempunyai potensi besar ba-gi konversi kendaraan, teruta-ma bagi low-duty vehicles(LDVs). Dengan sumber dayagas yang melimpah,daerah inisangatlah menjanjikan bagiindustri kita.

Proyek Dhaka Clean FuelProject (DFCP) di Bangladeshyang dimulai pada tahun2002 kini memasuki tahap ba-ru. Proyek yang didanai olehBank Pembangunan Asia(Asian Development Ban-k/ADB) ini dilanjutkan den-gan mengkonversikan 10.000kendaraan berbahan bakerbensin ke NGVs, dan denganpembangunan 6 stasion gasbesar. Proyek ini juga mem-biayai pembelian 300 bus dan2.000 rickshaw berbahan ba-kar gas serta konstruksi dari20 stasion gas kecil.

Sebagai salah satu negaradengan NGV terbanyak (no. 1di Asia dan no. 3 di dunia), po-pulasi NGV di Pakistan me-ningkat 47% dan 113% untukgas stasion: 700,000 NGVsdan 766 gas stasion adalah da-ta akhir di tahun 2005. Den-gan dana yang besar dan ban-tuan peraturan pemerintah,Pakistan memprediksikan5.000 bus CNG tambahan ditahun 2006-2010.

Iran melejit dari tingkat ke19 dunia ke sepuluh besar ne-gara NGV di tahun 2004-

Dari Bangladesh ke Turki, dari Pakistan ke MesirPotensi pangsa pasar dan perkembangannya

NGV yang ditargetkan padatahun 2006-2007 juga akan diberi fasilitas tambahan oleh17 gas station baru.

Perusahaan-perusahaan lo-cal menghadapi tantanganuntuk mengurangi harga kon-versi kendaraan,memproduk-si kendaraan berbahan bakar100% gas alam dan kendaraanberbahan bakar besin/gasalam. Juga tantangan untukmenjalankan proyek "CapitalTaxi" di Kairo.Sama seperti diKorea dan Brasil, di Mesir die-sel tidak boleh digunakan pa-da kendaraan bermesin kecil(LDV). Dan jika harga CNGjauh di bawah harga diesel,kemungkinan besar programpembelian 50 chassis bus un-tuk Cairo Transport Authoritydan Greater Cairo Bus Com-pany yang didanai olehUSAID akan berjalan denganlancar. Sebuah producer ken-daraan dari luar negri mengu-mumkan rencananya untuk

mengirim 275 CNG bus keAlexandria Public TransportAuthority dan ke kedua peru-sahaan transport bus umumdiatas pada tahun 2006.

Pada saat ini, potensi pang-sa pasar Heavy-Duty Vehicle(HDV)/bus sangatlah bagus diTurki. Sekitar 400 CNG bustambahan akan dibeli olehpemerintah kota Ankara.

Catatan:1 Baca juga edisi lalu dari maja-lah ini. Untuk mendapatkan edisi#1 atau #2 versi pdf dari majalahini, email asia@ngvgroup.com.Informasi lebih detail juga dipu-blikasikan di edisi #3 ini.2 Lihat statistik di dua halamanterakhir majalah ini.3 Sistem pembayaran konversikendaraan di mana biaya konver-si dibayar melalui perbedaanharga bensin dan CNG setiap ka-li pemilik kendaraan mengisi ta-xi yang dimodifikasi denganCNG.

Country overview: PakistanFebruary 2006

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NGV industry was started in late 1980 when Pakistani government established a CNG stationwhich was built by Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan. Nowadays, there are morethan 700 fuelling stations mostly private owned and over 0.7 million NGVs which mainly converted from gasoline to CNG passenger cars and commercial vehicles, such as Suzuki pickup cars. About 3-4 years ago, most NGVs were after market conversions. Today, 65% cars areconverted at OEM level and 35% at after market level. Until today, there is no diesel vehicleconversion is done. In the OEM part, there are 9 NGV models are available in the market.

Both public and private sectors are considered as mainNGV players in Pakistan. However, a growing need ofprivate sector involvement is noticed. Financial sup-

port is obtained mainly from government. Funding allotted forthe followings:

• Rs 500 million subsidy from federal government was provi-ded for the Public Sector Development Programme 2005-2006.This will be used to increase NG bus population up to 5.000buses in the next five years. However, the progress is slow;

• About Rs 3.032 million loan was disbursed by Small & Me-dium Enterprise (SME) bank to several SMEs in different sec-tors including CNG stations.

Additionally, until year 2000 there were 0% import duty andwaiver of general tax sales (GST). Later on it was levied to 5%import duty and 0% GST.Some standards adopted by this coun-try are as follows:

• Pakistan CNG act 1992 (influenced by NZS standard);• NZS-5454 for vehicle cylinder;• DOT 3AA for storage;• UNI EN ISO 9001:200 for CNG kits.

Data provided by: Khurram TahirMorgan Technologies, Pakistan

Morgan Technologies is a leading equipment and service pro-vider to the Oil & Gas and allied industries of Pakistan, withmotto of Quality for Economy.We sells with responsibility andto ensure it, our sales and after sales offices are located nation-wide in Karachi,Lahore, Islamabad,Peshwar and also in Chong-qing, China. Till now, we have installed over 75 CNG fuellingstations on turn-key basis in 11 cities in Pakistan. Our corestrength is Sales & After Service of machinery/equipment rela-ted to natural gas and fuel oils.We are sole representatives ofsome of the premium manufacturers in the world.

Product lines of Morgan Technologies includes CNG stationequipment, mother-daughter station equipment and services,gas detectors, composite CNG cylinders, cryogenic cylinder,flow meters, gas generators and pharmaceutical equipmentand technology.

Hino CNG bus, Pakistán

Islamabad

The federal ministerfor petroleum andnatural resources,

Ammanullah Khan Jadoonhas stated that vehicles usingdiesel as fuel will not be gran-ted permits to run in the bigcities in year 2007.He was ad-dressing the first meeting ofthe cabinet committee for-med for the promotion ofCNG use in Pakistan. It wasfurther declared that in orderto save huge expense on theimport of CNG kits, manufac-turing of CNG kits in Pakistaninstead will be initiated.

In a suggestion by the com-mittee, it was proposed to es-tablish larger refuelling sta-tions with greater pressure sothat capacitive need for refue-lling bigger vehicles could bemade easier. In addition,a pro-gramme of exemption fromRoute Tax, Excise Tax and Re-gistration Tax besides offeringsoft loans for such CNG fue-lled commercial vehicles is al-so under consideration.

The rise of air pollution incountry’s big cities can be es-timated from the fact that alarge number of people conti-nue to suffer from variouslung and respiratory diseases.The rise in respiratory andlung diseases can well be at-tributed to poor sanitationarrangements and smokeemitting vehicles. Therefore,the conversion of diesel po-wered vehicles to CNG fuel isthe most important nationalissue which should havebeen initiated long before

February 2006

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this. But to our dismay, ourgovernments always remainbusy with their internal pro-blems which would never letthem timely address suchmatters of grave national con-cern. The present govern-ment has however initiatedthis process and it should bewelcomed by all. It should bekept in mind that our big ci-ties are already facing dearthof urban transport besidesthere is no manufacturing fa-cility for CNG kits in Pakis-tan.Therefore, it is very diffi-cult for all kinds of transportsto completely switch to CNGfuel in this short period of ti-me. Only recently, a publictransport company deferredthe procurement of a lot ofCNG powered vehicles onthe grounds that those costthe company more than die-sel fuelled vehicles.

In such circumstances, theauthorities must offer attracti-ve incentive packages and fa-cilitation to encourage trans-port owners on converting toCNG fuel. But at the same ti-me, the transporters shouldextend such facilitation to ge-neral masses in consequence,which they did receive fromthe government. It had al-ways remained a poor tradi-tion here that people in trans-port business did get variousincentives but they would ne-ver deliver or extend such fa-cilitation to end beneficiariesor public at large.And as suchthe passengers don’t haveany nation wide association

so they continue to face ex-ploitation in the hands oftransporters, as a result. The-refore it is the prime respon-sibility of the state to takereins in their hands firmly onthis important issue of civiland human rights protectionand should never accept pre-valence as taken for granted.

Here I would say that everyone of us is admiring for acleaner environment not onlyin Pakistan but in the rest ofthe World as well, I personallyappreciate federal ministerfor petroleum and natural re-sources Pakistan, Ammanu-llah Khan Jadoon for takingsuch decisions for CNGV pro-ject not only saving moneybut for a cleaner Air.

And "training is essentialfor the success of any pro-ject" therefore I would re-quest to the Government of

Pakistan that they should alsoinclude CNGV training insti-tutes in Pakistan in order tohave a well trained CNGVtechnicians man power theinstitutes should be fundedby the Government and, likePunjab government alreadyhas made available over two(2) billions PAK Rs. over 26million Euro. for the conver-sion of diesel vehicle in theurban area which is a directincentive to the transportersonly, therefore in the past not-hing has been done for theCNGV automotive mecha-nics, technicians and engi-neers and the CNGV educa-tion should also be availablefor every one at the end theywill be responsible for theCNGV success in theCountry.

Hope for a more rationaland cleaner planet. In fact,every human being on thisworld claims for health andsaving.This is NGV equation.These two simple ideas re-present our strength and thekey to success.

5 January 2006Translated from Urdu by:M.FaryadCNGV Hi-Tech Pakistan & Co.European CNGV (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan

Pakistan: Decision to ban diesel fuel vehicles in big cities

More on diesel phase-out and funding in Pakistan

The government has issued a decree to phase out diesel-engine buses, mini-buses, wag-ons and two-stroke rickshaws from main cities by the end of 2007.The government

also plans not to issue permit for diesel vehicles in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar,Quetta, and Islamabad/Rawalpindi cities from 2007.

There is also a plan to offer 0% interest loan to potential buyers of CNG buses on a pub-lic-private partnership basis. The State Bank of Pakistan may advise commercial banks toestablish credit line for CNG by involving all the stakeholders.About 100.000 vehicles areexpected to be converted to CNGVs annually.Source: Green Car Congress

Lahore City

i) Motivations that lead people to convert their vehicles Price differences between CNG and other fuels would bethe main reason that may lead people to convert their vehi-cles. But people are expecting to have enough number ofrefuelling station available.

j) Government incentives promoting conversionCurrently, there are no incentives to promote the CNG con-version.We are expecting it to happen in early 2006.

5. Local market prospectsFor more than 15 years in Turkey, natural gas has been

used in different fields such as, residential and industrialheating, steam and power generating etc. But in recentyears, people have started to consider natural gas CNG asan alternative vehicle fuel. Although there are significantlyhigh taxes on CNG usage, the current Turkish governmentis planning to encourage and support people who are usingCNG. In the future, CNG usage will become easier andcheaper, and depending on how fast vehicles are convertedand how many CNG refueling stations are available, themarket will grow dramatically.

EU Directives require 20% of existing vehicles (almost 1million vehicles) to be converted to CNG in order to catchthe new low gas emissions. It may trigger the CNG market.On the other hand, Turkey has signed international agree-ments to purchase natural gas from Russia, Iran and Moroc-co. By signing these agreements,Turkey commits that it willpurchase certain amount of natural gas by 2020 and ac-cepts to pay no matter it consumes this gas or not! It meansthat Turkish government must find new markets such asNGV market to consume this natural gas.

6. Taxes and fees for import tradeAs you may know, Turkey and EU established a Customs

Union years ago.An important feature of the Turkey-EU Cus-toms Union is that Turkey is the first and only country to en-ter into such an advanced form of economic integration wit-hout being a full member.Turkey eliminated all customs du-ties and charges having equivalent effect applied to importsof industrial products from the EU and started to apply theCommunity’s Common Customs Tariff for imports from thethird countries. Custom duty rates for third countries varyfrom 0% to 7% depending on the sort of goods.There are noadditional taxes or fees for import trade.

In Turkey, there is 18% sales tax or VAT on almost everyt-hing no matter it is imported or not.

7. Possibilities and types of association with foreign peopleIn general, most local companies prefer to establish ex-

clusive distributorship with its foreign partner.

References

1) Under secretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Tradehttp://www.dtm.gov.tr/engmenu.htm2) EMRA (Energy Market Regulatory Authority )http://www.epdk.org.tr3) BOTAS, Petroleum Pipeline Corporationhttp://www.botas.gov.tr

Turkey: the marketplaceFebruary 2006

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By Hakan Sadikoglu, TAKSI MERKEZI Petrol ve Insaat Tic. Ltd. Sti.

1. Car market of gasoline or diesel powered vehicles:LDVs (cars, pick-up trucks and utilitarian small vehicles)and HDVs (buses and trucks)

As of March 2005, there are 8,224,000 vehicles in Turkey.Out of these vehicles, around 5,9 million are light vehicles(particularly passenger cars).

Light Vehicle Brands: Toyota, Honda, Renault, Ford, Peu-geot, Fiat, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi,Seat

Heavy-Duty Vehicle Brands: Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Volvo,Iveco, Ikarus, BMC

2. Historical use of liquid and gaseous fuelsIn 2004, in Turkey 3.1 million ton LPG, 3.6 million ton ga-

soline, and 10 million ton diesel fuel were consumed.

3. Basic facilities of natural gas. Cities and provinces withdistribution of natural gas.

www.botas.gov.tr/eng/naturalgas/ng_city_d.html or goto www.botas.gov.tr, click on "Activities" and choose "Natu-ral Gas PL Activities", then click on "Natural Gas Supply, CityDistribution and Companies Applied".

4. Turkish CNG Market a) Number of workshops for assembling CNG conversionkitsThere are only 3 conversion workshops, 2 in Istanbul and 1in Ankara.

b) Vehicle conversionsIn last five years, only 520 vehicles were converted. Thereare 396 cars/LDVs: 330 are in Istanbul and 66 in Ankara and124 buses: 104 in Istanbul and 20 in Ankara

c) CNG fuelling stationsAnkara: 1 public, 1 private*Istanbul: 3 public, 1 private**Private refuelling stations belong to the municipalities.

d) Brands already existing in the local market BRC, Bedinigas,Tartarini, Lovato ,Voltran and Landi Renzo

e) Brands and volume of cylinders or loading tanks. FABER, ULLIT, INFLEX - 48, 50 and 65 litre cylinders

f) Final price of the conversion kit and of the assembling,paid by the owner of the vehicle.Between US$350 and US$600 (including conversion kit +cylinder +labour)

g) Government regulations, or of any other department ofcontrol, for assembling workshopsYou must get a licence from the Energy Market RegulatoryAuthority and the local natural gas authority.

h) Government regulations , or of any other department ofcontrol, for CNG refuelling stationsYou must get a licence from the Energy Market RegulatoryAuthority and the local natural gas authority.

February 2006

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By Yusuf Siyalom, Aygaz A.S.

Turkey started to usenatural gas from1987 with 520 mi-

llion m3. Market started withthe import of Russian gasand local production. Totalconsumption of natural gasreached to 22 billion m3 in2004. 60 % of this natural gasis used for production ofelectricity, 2% is used for fer-tilizer, 20% is used for resi-dential and 18% is used forindustrial purposes.

Today, supply depends onimport. There was no localproduction in 2004. Mainsource of import is Russia(65%) and the second one isIran (16%). Other 19% is im-ported in the form of LNGfrom Algeria (15%) and Nige-ria (4%). There are two LNGterminals in Turkey. One ofthem is private and is notworking. The other one isowned by the government

and was established in 1994with an injection capacity of685,000 m3/hr. Purpose ofthis terminal was to store thegas for peak periods before2002. However after thisyear, due to high percentageof tax in bulk LPG, some in-dustrial customers started toconvert their facilities fromLPG to LNG.

Although privatizationprocess of local distributionand import of natural gas bu-siness continues, it is stillcontrolled by the govern-ment. Due to supply con-tracts government strategy isto increase the residentialuse of natural gas, whichmainly depends on infras-tructure. That is why privateLocal Distribution Compa-nies (LDCs) are necessitated.As a result, natural gas busi-ness in Turkey is expected togrow.

Turkey has NGV potential

especially for Heavy Duty Ve-hicles. Public transportationis the most common way totravel in cities. Buses consti-tute the major percentage ofthe public transport. All the-se buses run on diesel engi-nes. Unfortunately, these en-gines are old and emissionsare high. This can be evalua-ted as an opportunity forcleaner vehicles. Turkey hadan experience with dual-fuelbuses (diesel and naturalgas).This was a joint projectbetween a university and themunicipality. However, thisproject did not work duetechnical problems and the-se buses are not used anymore. Municipality of Ankara(capital city of Turkey)agreed to buy 400 dedicatedCNG buses from MAN. Thisproject can be an examplefor other cities and numberof projects can increase inthe future. Garbage truckscan be another importantchannel that can be develo-

ped especially in big cities.Route of these vehicles is de-fined and they will be goodcandidates for natural gas.

Light duty vehicles, mainlypassenger cars, appear to bea big market to penetrate.However, 25% of the passen-ger cars uses LPG in Turkey.Of course, this does notmean that there are not anypossibilities to create a roomfor CNG.This means that go-vernment approach and stra-tegy becomes more impor-tant in this situation.

Growth and developmentof natural gas business in Tur-key will bring new opportu-nities for NGVs in the co-ming years. Government aut-horities and local administra-tions need to prepare them-selves for these develop-ments.These preparations in-clude defining tax policies,standards, laws and longterm strategies.

Natural gas business in Turkey

February 2006

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Iran: the impressive currentnumbers and targets

Iranian CNG industrystarted in 1975 with aconversion of 1.200 ta-

xis and private passenger carsin Shiraz city in South-West ofIran, as a pilot project. In1983, almost 1.200 cars wereconverted in Mashhad city inNorth-East of Iran.There weretwo CNG refuelling stationsin each city at that time. But,a comprehensive project toestablish infrastructure anddevelop CNG industry in Iranwas started in 2001.

Nowadays, with an averagemonthly conversion of 10,000vehicles to NGVs, Iran adds upits NGV fleet very rapidly.Withalmost 92,000 NGVs facilita-ted by 122 refuelling stations,Iran NGV market is predomi-nantly car/LDV sector.The cu-rrent and future developmentplan includes the following:

• Building 278 more CNGfuelling stations up to Decem-ber 2006;

• Conversion of 600.000public, private and govern-ment cars to NGVs;

• Production of 550.000OEM Bi-Fuel NGVs in 6 mo-dels in five years period, wit-hin a cooperation of two big-gest Iranian car manufactu-rers that hold over 90% of thelocal car market share: IranKhodro and Saipa;

• Production of about667.000 OEM CNG based ve-hicles in four years durationin Iran Khodro.And to contri-bute to renovation produc-tion line for 400.000 OEMNGVs annual capacities ofthis manufacturer. A negotia-tion to make a similar con-

tract with Saipa is undertaken.• Production of 6000 CNG

dedicated bus for city fleet.

Apart from the above-men-tioned goals,government faci-litate this industry with othernon-financial and financialsupports. Iranian Fuel Conser-vation Organization (IFCO), asubsidiary of National Iranianoil Company, is closely invol-ved in most of the projects.The government aids includethe followings:

• Supporting research institu-tes;

The researches cover CNGfuelled engine performance(dedicated, bi-fuel and dualfuel engines), durability, emis-sions, treatment identificationof natural gas as vehicle fuel,gas composition effects onengine performance, etc;

• Technology transfer fromabroad, whereas localisationof the production of CNG kitcomponents, CNG cylindersand refuelling station equip-ment are involved;

• Regulating CNG price infavour of customers;

Current CNG price advan-tage over regular gasoline atequal energy base is 25%.Thegovernment also plans to in-crease gasoline price, aftercompleting CNG infrastructu-

re ensuring lower price ofCNG comparing to gasoline.

• Tax exemption on CNGequipment;

The government offers lo-wer import tariff on CNGequipment. CNG kits tariff isdecreased to 5% by govern-ment approval opposed fromthe previous 25% tax.The taxfor steel pipes for CNG cylin-ders was reduced from15% to5%. The same policy appliesto CNG cylinders.The importduty for CBU bi-fuel cars is65% against 100% duty for ga-soline cars;

• High subsidies for OEMNGVs and conversions, and;

• Financial grants for com-panies in CNG fields;

IFCO compensates all costof CNG kit components for

The 6 OEM bi-fuel vehicles planned for 2007 (550.000 vehicles)

Samand bifuel CNG, Iran Khodro Co.

Amir Khaki

bi-fuel vehicles used by carcompanies, as well as procu-rement of CNG cylinders. Itreimburses the main cost ofvehicles prototyping and lineproduction equipment forNGV products. Therefore thecar manufacturers can selltheir CNG vehicles even atthe same price as gasoline ve-hicles.

Up to US$ 400.000 loanwith low to zero interest isprovided for private compa-nies constructing refuellingstations. In the conversionworkshop field, a subsidy ofalmost 90% of the retrofitcosts is offered. Dependingon the NGV market growth,the subsidies will be loweredgradually.

Iran has five OEMs that produce NGVs at this moment.Those companies are Iran Khodroand Iran Khodro Diesel, Saipa, Shahab Khodro, and Zamyad.

Data provided by Amir Khaki, Fleet Conversion Deputy of Iran Fuel ConservationOrganization (IFCO)

IFCO was established in 2000 with a mission to review fuel consumption in different sec-tors and to carry out some conservation projects nationwide. CNG infrastructure and NGVpromotion are defined as one of IFCO’s main missions.

February 2006

16

Armenia, not having its own energy resources of hydrocar-bon, has always relied on foreign imports to cater to its de-mand for motor fuel. As a consequence of the blockade by itsneighbors (Azerbaijan and Turkey) from 1988 until the currentperiod, traditional liquid motor fuel has been imported to Ar-menia using a combination of different forms of transporta-tion, which causes a significant add-on to transportation costsand increases the liquid fuel sales price. Constant and conside-rable fluctuations of oil prices in the world market cause chan-ges in the liquid fuel sales prices leading, in turn, to changes intransportation service prices.The use of natural gas as a motorfuel is economically more advantageous due to the considera-ble difference between the prices of traditional liquid fuel andnatural gas.

The first time Armenia used NGVs was in 1981. In that year,there were some difficulties associated with the lack of refue-ling stations. After the first refueling stations were built in1985, the Armenian Ministry of Transport, companies, and utili-ties became closely involved in introducing compressed NGVsand increasing their number. However, following the 1988earthquake, these activities considerably slowed down in Ar-menia. The Karabagh conflict resulted in a blockade of roads

By H.Khachatryan, Chairman of NGVA-Armenia

The Republic of Arme-nia is a small countryin the Tran Caucasian

region with a territory of29,800 square miles and a po-pulation of 3.2 million. It is oneof the former Soviet Union Re-publics which declared inde-pendence in 1991. About 70%of the population lives in ur-ban areas, and 50 % of the totalpopulation lives in Yerevan, thecapital of Armenia.

The Armenian economy suffered a series of devastatingshocks in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including a catastrop-hic earthquake in 1988, the break-up of the Soviet Union, andthe closure of borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan.At the lowpoint in 1993,Armenia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell toapproximately 50% of the 1990 level, the fiscal deficit rose toalmost two- thirds of GDP, and inflation reached an annual rateof 10,000%.Today, the economy is stabilized and appears to beon the path of sustainable growth.

Refuelling station in Sevan city

Natural Gas as Motor Fuel in

increased by 15 thousand.This increaseof the number of vehicles is a major concern both from thepoint of energy independence and from the point of environ-mental pollution.Unfortunately, there are no Governmental po-licies or funding to support the growth of NGVs. Last year thedraft law on ‘’Usage of alternative types of motor fuel in Arme-nia’’and the List of measures to reduce emission from transportsector were submitted to the Government of the Republic ofArmenia. Currently the Ministry of Environmental Protectionand NGVA-Armenia with assistance of UNDP intend to developa proposal to be submitted to the Global Environment Fund forPDF A. PDF A will provide the opportunity for developing anappropriate strategy draft and submitting proposals for theadoption of a national program by the Government of the Re-public of Armenia.The project would contribute to the transi-tion of transportation to more environmentally-friendly types(e.g., CNG, biogas, and electrical transportation means) offuels, improvement of supervision over vehicle technical con-dition, emissions of vehicles, and to activities for reduction offuel consumption by vehicles.

Though it is incontestable that the use of CNG is both eco-nomically efficient and environmentally friendly, the insuffi-ciency of safety measures taken for conversion, refueling andoperation need to be addressed. Used cylinder equipment im-ported from Russia, Ukraine and Italy is causing a major safetyproblem. (Armenia does not produce cylinder equipment.)NGVA-Armenia, established in 2004, is trying to support theusage of the natural gas as the primary motor fuel in Armenia,to develop and adopt the normative technical documents in li-ne with international standards.

and the railway, causing a multi-fold increase in the prices of li-quid fuel and Armenia found itself in an energy crisis. In viewof this situation, private businesses became involved in cons-tructing gas refueling stations and converting from liquid fuelto natural gas, and the number of private gas refueling stationsand vehicles converting from liquid fuel to natural gas startedto increase.

Rehabilitation of gas supply systems in Armenia and cons-truction of new gas networks also stimulated the formation ofgas refueling stations and 95% of the country was full of gasrefueling stations at efficient locations. Currently, 83 gas re-fueling stations exist as compared to 9 stations in 1991.Of the83 stations 74 are private. This circumstance promoted theprevalence of vehicles using natural gas as fuel. In the initialstage, mainly microbuses and taxies that had high mileage we-re converted to NGVs, now the number of trucks, dumptrucks, city buses and LDVs using CNG as motor fuel is cons-tantly growing. There are over 47.688 NGVs in Armenia. Ta-king into consideration the sufficient capacity and reasonableallocation of refueling stations throughout the territory of Ar-menia, according to the study of "Natural Gas as Motor Fuel inArmenia" scheduled to put on gas about 40 thousand vehicles(10 thousand per year) in next 4 years. Russia is currently ta-king steps to raise the natural gas tariff supplied to Armeniawhich can be a serious barrier to the development of theNGV market.

According to statistical data the number of vehicle on theroads in Armenia annually increased by 8-9 thousand vehiclesduring the past years.However, in 2005 the number of vehicles

February 2006

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Armenia

February 2006

18

Dear Ita,

We appreciate very much that you remember about us and are interested in our country.We enjoyed very much receiv-ing your magazine by September and December editions.

NGV market still doesn't exist in Israel.The main reason is that Israel started using natural gas only last year. In this stageit is limited to one power station on shore (gas comes from off-shore sources).There is still no distribution network and evenconstruction of the inland transmission pipe started only this year. In addition there are no adopted standards and regula-tions relating to NGV in Israel.

We believe that within some years NGV will be introduced since Israeli economical andother conditions are very suitable for that. Currently we are working on introduction of NGVinto the country and assist our authorities in the adoption of appropriate standards.

In general, our company is active mainly in France with exports to some countries. In par-ticular we started a joint venture in India aiming at local NGV market. Our Israeli based labo-ratory works on the development of novel Adsorbed Natural Gas storage tanks, which canstore gas quantities similar to CNG under much lower pressure.This enables cut to 1/2 - 1/3the NGV refuelling infrastructures capital and operation costs, to increase by 50% the NGVdriving range in comparison with CNG, or to reduce tank volume for the same driving range.

Best Regards,Barukh Foux, VP Business Development of MoreGasTech S.A.S.

Israeli Branch

Barukh Foux Waiting for NGVs to enter

Israel: waiting for NGVs to enter

Natural gas vehiclesthe Australian scene

PPart 2art 2

Isuzu CNG NPR 400 Light Truck in the Waverley Council (NSW) Fleet

The future of AustralianNGV industry

Following the already pu-blished part 1, the positiveand negative aspects and thestatistics (see Asian NGVCommunications December2005 issue) now is time tosee the Australian govern-ment activities in this in-dustry and the potential ofthe market.

By Noel Child, Child & AssociatesNoel Child is a transport and environmental professional with thirtyyears real world experience. He is along-standing advocate of the use ofnatural gas as a transport fuel inAustralia. In this short overview, helooks at the current status of natural gasand the NGV industry in Australia – andwhat the future might hold. Noel presents a mixed and generally disappointing report card – but identifies a window of opportunity. Noelwill provide further reports on theAustralian NGV scene in future editionsof Asian NGV Communications.

Government Subsidiesand Greenhouse

Subsidy programs offeredby the Australian Govern-ment, through the AustralianGreenhouse Office,have beenmentioned earlier. They pre-sent an interesting dilemma.

At face value, governmentsupport for the NGV industryis positive, and should be wel-comed.However,maybe a mo-re lateral analysis is required.

Current government pro-grams in Australia are based onachieving reductions in green-house gas emissions.While na-tural gas offers a net green-house advantage compared tomore carbon dense diesel andpetrol, it may be that green-house, however important, isnot the most powerful or ef-fective driver for the use of na-tural gas use in Australiantransport applications.

Notwithstanding its establis-hed environmental creden-tials, It is likely in real termsthat the most powerful driversfor natural gas in Australia areits increasing price advantagecompared to petroleum pro-ducts, and its inherent advan-tage as an indigenous ratherthan imported fuel resource.

These are the factors mostlikely stimulate commercialinterest and market demandin a real way.

There is also the lingeringrisk that government subsi-

dies, however well intentio-ned, can be a dangerous po-licy narcotic. That some sup-pliers, seeing subsidies as apotential revenue nirvana,apply less rather than moreattention to market competi-tive pricing of their products.

The time has probably co-me for natural gas to rise orfall in Australia on the basis ofits inherent strengths andweaknesses – in an open mar-ket scenario.The outcome ofsuch an approach may be sur-prisingly positive.

The FutureAt first glance, this brief

summary may be seen to pre-sent a negative view. What isintended, however, is to pre-sent a realistic snapshot of justwhere natural gas and NGV’sare in the Australian transportsector at the moment.

Australians, privately andcorporately, are inherentlyconservative – and slow tochange established and suc-cessful practices.This appliesto transport fuel – an area inwhich petrol and diesel haveruled for generations, and ha-ve provided relatively cheap,easy and convenient options.

The petroleum industrycan be expected to use its notinsignificant lobbyingstrength to prolong the use ofpetrol and diesel.After all, it isthe Australian economy that

February 2006

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Promotional signage – NG truck in the Waverley Council (NSW) Fleet

is vulnerable to escalating oilprices - not the pocketbooksof the oil majors.

Whether we like it or not,however, the global energybalance is changing. Crudepetroleum is a finite resour-ce, subject to dramatically in-creasing demand pressure,particularly from emergingeconomies such as China.Over time, and in a pattern ofpeaks and troughs, the priceof crude oil – and therefore ofpetrol and diesel – is almostcertain to rise faster than ot-her key inputs to the Austra-lian economy.

Other transport fuel alter-natives – including powercell and hydrogen technology– provide a tantalising pana-cea for some, but in practicaland commercial terms arestill a significant time away.

A core of enthusiasm, inte-rest and expertise is still availa-ble in Australia to establish na-tural gas,and NGV’s,as real andpractical options that can helpthis nation and its people brid-ge the gap form today, to thenew fuel and transport techno-logies of future generations.

A groundswell of public de-mand, effective communica-tion (other than to the con-verted), and a more entrepre-neurial approach to marke-ting and development, are li-kely to be critical elements ofthe way forward.

Peru: President Toledo declaresNGV use to be of national interest

February 2006

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This presidential decisionpromotes investment on re-fueling stations and works-hops and highlights the im-portance of ExpoGNV 2006to be held in Lima from 6 to 8July 2006

President Alejandro Toledoapproved a presidential de-cree last January 25th th-rough which NGV is declaredto be of national interest andchanges regulations for set-ting and operating CNG sta-tions.

The President said that theobjective of this regulation isto make Camisea gas availableto all Peruvians. "Although itis true that gas in Camiseawill be profitable regardingexports, Peruvians have theright to benefit from this hy-drocarbon," he asserted.

He added that this initiativenot only encourages invest-ment on CNG stations, forwhich the State has planned340 million soles worthloans, but also promotes in-vestment on workshops.

"This gas is a success. It ischeaper and less polluting.This is a no risk decision.NGV is 65 per cent less ex-pensive than gasoline and 50per cent than diesel, and

This presidential decision promotes investment on refueling stations and workshops and highlights the importance of ExpoGNV 2006 to be held in Lima from 6 to 8 July 2006

transport fares will eventuallydecrease," he assured.

Toledo said that the gasfound in Camisea amounts to8.7 trillion cubic feet, whichwill allow Peru to have thisfuel available for more than40 years."

Furthermore, the PeruvianPresident explained thatheavy duty vehicles, mainlythe ones used to transportfood to different places of thecountry will also benefit fromNGV and added that this si-tuation will decrease food pri-ce for the poor.

Get to workPresident Toledo said: "Dear

investors and transport busi-nesspeople, the ball is in yourcourt.You already have the fi-nancing funds and the pro-duct, let’s get to work."

"Let’s stop using gasoline.Let’s not be prisoners of oilimports. Do not let oil-dollarsrule Latin America. Let’s be in-dependent by using what isours and that is gas from Ca-misea. Therefore, I invite allbusinesspeople to invest mo-re in refueling stations andworkshops."

Minister of Transport andCommunications explained

that this decision will promo-te mass conversion of vehi-cles to NGV, and this willeventually cut down costs ofpublic, interstate and heavy-duty vehicles.

"The use of NGV is decla-red to be of national interestdue to its social, economic,and environmental importan-ce, allowing the State to pro-mote its massive use in roadtransport, as an alternativeamong liquid fuels," he con-cluded.

The decree will also benefitlegal tools that will allow or-ganizations not included wit-hin the financial system, to of-fer loans for conversions, eit-her for gasoline or diesel vehi-cles.

This formal meeting was at-

tended, apart from PresidentToledo, by head officers ofthe Ministers of Transportand Communications, JoséOrtiz, and Energy and Mines,Glodomiro Sánchez, amongothers.

"All governmental supportto this sector is positive," saidAntonio Tella, president ofthe Peruvian Chamber of Na-tural Gas for Vehicles.

In this encouraging at-mosphere, from 6 to 8 July, Li-ma will host ExpoGNV 2006,an exhibition and simulta-neous conferences with higheducational value, to be heldin a market that is just ope-ning to this industry and thatis avid for growing.

More info: www.expognv-peru.com

President Toledo

OEM NGV Price AdvantageFebruary 2006

22

Hyundai Super Aero CNG city bus Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT bi-fuel passenger car Daewoo Low Step CNG bus

Pass this charts on… Help your country to have a cleaner air

The first and second charts which was originally made by Daewoo and Hyundai were modified as the fuel prices change over time. The 2004 and 2005 diesel and CNG priceswere previously in US$.. We converted them into Euro with current currency rate of US$1= ¤0.835446. However, the main data, such as fuel consumption remains the same asit was used as a reference in the calculation above.

In the comparison 2004-2006 chart, you can see that using a CNG bus could be more and more profitable since diesel price continue to increase a lot while CNG price eitherincreased a little or even decrease (2005-2006). In a few years, the price difference of diesel and NG bus buying price will be covered by the fuel saving. And soon, you willenjoy the real savings from using this clean vehicle.

You can calculate your country price advantage by using your local fuel prices. The data that you can use for your calculation is as following:Set a mileage, for example, 90,000km/year;Fuel consumption for Daewoo bus: 2.8km per litre diesel and per m3 CNG;Fuel consumption for Hyundai bus: 2.3 km/litre diesel and 2.1km/m3 CNG;Use your current CNG and diesel prices: current fuel price x (90,000/fuel consumption).

Fuel savings may vary for each country as fuel prices (and fuel energy contents) are also varies.Show the comparison chart above to your government and local public transport companies,…and buy CNG buses.

February 2006

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OEM NGV passenger car in Asia

Original EquipmentM a n u f a c t u r e rDaimlerChrysler

has announced its plan toopen a new plant in Thailandto produce the Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT; a bi-fuel pas-senger car that runs on bothnatural gas and unleaded pre-mium gasoline. In natural-gasoperating mode, emissions ofcarbon dioxide are cut byover 20 per cent comparedto gasoline operation, whilefuel cost is cut by almost 70%in Thailand (this depends onthe fuel price comparisonbetween gasoline and CNGin each country). Daim-lerChrysler claims that theE200NGT running cost forwill be cut by half whenusing natural gas.The specifi-cations of the model both inThailand and in Europe arethe same.

This decision to producethe vehicle in Thailand wastaken since DaimlerChryslerwas confident with Thai go-vernment’s support to pro-mote NGV use in this coun-

try, said Karl-Heinz Heckhau-sen, President and CEO ofDaimler Chrysler (Thailand)Limited. The Ministry ofEnergy plans to reduce exci-se tax on NGV by 10% to 20%and to give a waiver to NGVcylinder import duty and ot-her related equipment. Thestrong support of the govern-ment was confirmed by theMinister of Energy, Mr VisetChoopiban, who planned tomake 2006 as the year forNGV and bio-diesel.

Mr Viset also mentionedthat DaimlerChrysler plannedto import as well as to produ-ce locally the model for salein Thailand.They will also uselocal products for the produc-tion of Mercedes-Benz E200NGT. Other OEMs are also ex-pected to open their produc-tion plants in Thailand to sup-ply the region needs of envi-ronmentally-friendly vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz E200 NGTis also been used in Singapo-re. A public taxi fleet, Smart

Automobile, operates 100units of this limousine carsince last 2005, which are fa-cilitated by a private fuellingstation.Two more stations areexpected to be constructedby the end of 2006.The SmartAutomobile drivers are im-

pressed with this taxi perfor-mance as reported by thecompany director Mr JohnnyHarjanto. NGV operators inSingapore are also enjoyinggovernment support througha favourable tax system forCNGVs.

Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT bi-fuel passenger car

Burma started using natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in1986 whit several cars running on natural gas.Thisdecision was driven by the over increasing price of

oil, energy dependency issue and an abundant reserve ofnatural gas.

With about 900.000 vehicles on the roads the country gaso-line consumption has doubled in the past decade, 420.000 ga-soline liters and 1.4 million tons diesel were consumed an-nually.Although Burma produced about 798.000 tones of cru-de oil per year, it could not meet the local demand and had im-ported about US$130 million worth of oil annually. Even if thisdemand will not increase, the nation will have to spend muchmore money on imported oil as oil prices keep increasing.

Thus, it was a wise decision to switch to natural gas as Burmaowns 2.46 trillion cubic-metres of gas reserve. In fiscal year2004-2005, Burma produced 10.69 billion cubic metres (BCM)of gas, whereas 9.5 BCM gas was exported, contributing overUS$1 billion to the national income.

With a yearly growth of 43% in 2004-2005, today,about 4.000diesel and gasoline vehicles were converted to CNGVs in Yan-goon city.About 90% of those NGVs are trucks where the other10% are taxis and saloons.The government recognize the bene-fits of NGV and, thus, continue promoting this "clean fuelled"vehicle. It is cheaper and reduces air pollution level.

Source: Angola Press

Burma/Myanmar

More information is available at http://www.mercedes-benz.co.th and click onE200NGT Elegance on the right menu.Source: DaimlerChrysler and ETNA TNA English News

February 2006

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The first international signage for CNG fue-lling stations has been approved for usageworldwide. ENGVA/IANGV* proposed in-

ternational CNG signage to the United Nations(UN) in September 2004. The approved signagewas designed by Germany and Switzerland, as analternative to a "molecule" design originally propo-sed by ENGVA/IANGV. Black, blue and white werechosen as colours, whereas CNG lettering accom-panying the fuel pump symbol also can be transla-ted to any local language.The same signage but forLPG was adopted at the same time.The WorkingParty I,Traffic Safety and Road Signage approvedthe design as a consolidated amendment thateventually will go through the UN ratification pro-cess as an amendment to the 1968 Vienna Conven-tion and Road Signage. Countries are allowed todisplay this sign now since it has been approved.However, the final adoption must wait until coun-tries vote to amend the Treaty.

According to the UNECE,the sign is classified asan "F" sign, i.e. information, facilities or servicesigns.The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and

Signals does not have specific provi-sions regarding the size of F signs ortheir placing. Article 6.4 states (b)that the dimensions of sign panels shall be suchthat the sign is easily visible for a distance and canbe easily understood by a person approaching it.As a general rule, there shall be four sizes for eachtype of sign: small, normal, large and very large.

Supplementary information:The report on the consolidated resolution on thissignage is available at www.unece.org/trans-/doc/2005/wp1/TRANS-WP1-2005-07e.pdf.The final recommendation relating to CNG signa-ge is contained in Annex 1 to the report at the fo-llowing link: www.unece.org/trans-/doc/2005/wp1/TRANS-WP1-100e.pdf.A link to the Vienna Convention appears below:www.unece.org/trans/conventn/signalse.pdf

* ENGVA: European Natural Gas Vehicle AssociationIANGV: International Association of Natural Gas Vehicle

International CNG signage

NGV technology: the pathway to the future in EgyptBy Pierre FischerSwagelok Regional Manager, Euro-pe and Africa

The NGV market has seen arapid growth in recent years inresponse to rising levels of po-llution and increasing fuel pri-ces. Natural gas is on average 15to 60 per cent lower pricedthan gasoline or diesel and isone of the cleanest burning al-ternative fuels, with 70 per centlower carbon monoxide ratesthan gasoline-powered vehicles.Egypt for example, is one of thetop ten countries in the worldutilizing natural gas. Cairo, oneof Egypt’s most polluted cities,with the push of the Cairo AirImprovement Project, beganconverting to compressed natu-ral gas (CNG) vehicles nineyears ago to address their air po-llution problem. Today, Egypthas over 62.000 natural gas vehi-cles, from privately owned carsto buses and trucks. In the lastyear alone, Egypt saw a 13 percent growth in the number of

natural gas vehicles on theroads.The number of natural gasfuelling stations has increased to91, a 6% increase from last year.

As the NGV market grows,companies such as Swagelok al-so have to innovate to keep pa-ce with demand.As well as deve-loping new products, historicproducts previously used for al-ternative applications are alsobeing applied in the NGV in-dustry. Successful technology isalways based on experienceswith different applications, withsafety, reliability and practicalityof use being the strongest crite-ria. When Swagelok introducedthe revolutionary two-ferrulecompression type fitting tech-nology in 1947 for example, noone at that time thought itwould end up in fuel cell tech-nology more than 50 years later.Starting in instrumentation fluidlines to applications within theprogressing nuclear industry ofthe 50s, to the 70s into turbineand high pressure gas systemsin semiconductor, and aerospa-ce of the 80s and 90s. That’show the market progresses.

With the NGV market underthe spotlight, the burning ques-tion is how long will thisgrowth rate last? It has beensuggested that CNG is just an in-termediary stage before we mo-

ve on to even cleaner fuels,with Hydrogen being the realsolution in reducing vehicleemissions. Given the speed atwhich the NGV/CNG markethas grown it will be interestingto observe how fast the hydro-gen market will develop.

As levels of pollution and fuelprices continue to rise, onething that is certain is that alter-native fuels,whether CNG/NGVor hydrogen, are the future fortransport vehicles.

About the Company: head-quartered in Solon, Ohio, U.S.A.,Swagelok Company is a majordeveloper and manufacturer offluid system component techno-logies for the research, alternati-ve fuels, analytical instrumenta-tion, process instrumentation,pharmaceutical, oil and gas, po-wer, petrochemical, and semi-conductor industries. Swage-lok® products are delivered th-rough one of the world’s largestmanufacturing and industrial dis-tribution networks. More than25 Swagelok manufacturing, re-search, technical support, anddistribution facilities support aglobal network of more than200 authorized sales and servicecenters on 6 continents. For mo-re information about Swagelok,visit the company’s Web site atwww.swagelok.com.