Bus operator to put up CNG daughter station

KL CNG Bus Transport Corp. is planning to put up a P200-million daughter  station for compressed natural gas (CNG)  in Baclaran.

Charlie Lim, KL CNG president, told reporters that they have formally expressed their commitment to construct additional and necessary CNG infrastructure for public transport to the  Department of Energy (DOE).

He said the company has been meeting with experts in the CNG supply technology from China, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, USA and Argentina.

“We are considering working with the experts, hire their services if necessary or even enter into licensing and technical support agreement,” Lim said.

He  said  it is now high time for  government to fasttrack the establishment of more CNG refilling stations with the continuing rise in global crude prices.

“The experienced transport operators are adamant to shift from gasoline/diesel to CNG as the supply of CNG remains uncertain with only one daughter station with limited capacity, dedicated only to a pilot project and so situated in the middle of the limited access SLEX( South Luzon Expressway) tollway,” Lim said.

A daughter station is a mobile trailer where gas is delivered to vehicles by means of a compressor. The CNG supply comes from a mother station which is connected to a high pressure gas pipeline.

He said once  CNG is used commercially, it would be priced at around P25 per liter, substantially lower than  diesel price now costing an average of P46 per liter.

The use of CNG in provincial buses is now being pilot tested.

Under the agreement between accredited bus companies and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., the operator of the CNG daughter station in Mamplasan, Laguna, the price would be pegged at P14.52 per liter within the seven-year pilot period.

Lim said they do not have to wait for the pilot period to expire before putting up new daughter stations due to the urgency of the project.

“As a bus operator with 40 CNG units accredited under the pilot project, we share the same sentiments and apprehensions that placed us under a wait-and-see attitude whether we will order our remaining 28 CNG units now or wait till the supply of CNG improves,” he said.

KL CNG will provide 40 of the 200 buses committed to be part of the pilot project.

He said the proposed Baclaran CNG station, which will use the so-called portable hydraulic pump system, would have a capacity of more than 2,500 cubic meters and could serve 75-100 buses.

The company official pointed out that even other bus companies could source their CNG from the  refilling station. “This will not be exclusive to our buses. Other bus firms could buy from us,” he said.

Lim said they would set up the proposed CNG project within six to eight months if they would be assured of the CNG supply by the DOE.

 According to Lim, they are also willing to enter into a supply agreement with the DOE or the CNG operator involving a volume of about 100 million normal cubic meters (NCM) per year which is good for 2,000 buses.