Gazprom to Speed Up NGV Development

Gazprom has said that it is seeking to speed up the development of the natural gas vehicle (NGV) industry, with the matter discussed at a meeting of its Board of Directors yesterday.

In a statement released on its website, Gazprom says that it believes NGV fuel will be an important part of the gas market in the future as well as in achieving environmental aims. 

"One of Gazprom's main objectives in the domestic market is to considerably expand the NGV fuel business and set up the company's large-scale natural gas market on its basis..." the statement said. "The conversion of motor vehicles from gasoline to natural gas [also] allows for decreasing harmful substances emission fivefold at average. This is especially important for big cities where a fair share of air pollution is due to motor vehicles."

Gazprom has already begun a roll-out of NGV fuelling stations through Russia with a total of 208 filling stations available through the country in 59 regions. Last year, the company supplied massive amounts of NGV fuel to the Russian domestic market with 361.6 million cubic metres of natural gas sold through its fuelling stations.

However, the company also noted that currently there is a gap in the laws surrounding natural gas vehicles and the promotion of the conversion of gasoline-powered vehicles in Russia. As such, the Board has broached the topic with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following this discussion, Gazprom says, the matter is now being considered by the Russian Federation Government.

The company also said that it is seeking to expand the development of NGVs into foreign countries, with progress on this aim expected to be made by the first quarter of next year.