Encana Natural Gas Inc., a subsidiary of North American natural gas producer Encana Corp., will set up a network of mobile liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling stations for heavy-duty trucks that haul water to the Haynesville Shale play.
Encana has agreed to be the sole fuel supplier to California-based Heckmann Water Resources (HWR), a provider of water hauling services to Encana and other producers in the shale play.
Heckmann recently ordered 200 new LNG trucks, from Peterbilt Motors Corp. of Denton, Texas, which are powered by Westport HD Systems from Westport Innovations’ Inc. of Vancouver, B.C. Heckmann’s purchase represents a major thrust to convert the company’s water-hauling truck fleet to LNG from diesel, and will make HWR the operator of the largest fleet of LNG trucks in North America.
“We are very pleased to be part of an innovative North American solution to expand the use of liquefied natural gas in large-freight vehicles in the US. This initiative is a major step towards encouraging many companies servicing the energy industry to convert vehicles to run on affordable, environmentally-responsible LNG or compressed natural gas (CNG),” said Eric Marsh, executive vice-president, Encana Corp. and senior vice president, USA Division.
Encana will initially dispense liquefied natural gas to HWR’s truck fleet using mobile fueling station. The company plans to build its first permanent and public LNG fueling station in the Shreveport, Louisiana area later this year. Last November, Encana opened its first CNG fueling station at Coushatta in Red River Parish, Louisiana. Also, in 2011 Encana plans to open its next four CNG stations, one in each of the states of Wyoming and Colorado and two in Western Canada.
“We are proud to be the first oil and natural gas services provider to offer LNG trucks to our clients and to operate the largest fleet of LNG trucks in North America. Natural gas combustion produces up to 30% less greenhouse gases resulting in a much lower carbon footprint per vehicle, and domestic natural gas will provide us with a significant cost savings over the life of the vehicles,” said Richard J. Heckmann, chairman and CEO of Heckmann Corp., parent of HWR.
Source: Encana Corp.
