First CNG station on Singapore mainland to open

Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 22 Nov 07

THE green drive will get a boost early next year when the first compressed natural gas (CNG) retail station on the mainland opens to the public at Jalan Buroh.

The station, in the western part of Singapore, is a joint initiative between Singapore Petroleum Company and SembCorp Gas. The only other CNG refuelling station now is on Jurong Island.

Calling it a significant development, National Environment Agency chief executive officer Lee Yuen Hee said: "If more CNG retailing stations are set up across the island, it would help pave the way for more Singaporeans to opt for CNG-powered vehicles."

According to SembCorp Gas director Francis J Gomez, there are plans to build "three or four" more CNG stations in expectation of increased demand and going forward, there would be services to convert petrol-fuelled cars to CNG.

Also in the race to provide CNG is taxi operator Smart Automobile, which has plans to set up similar stations by next year. In September, its affiliate — Smart Energy — held a ground-breaking ceremony at the site of its station in Mandai, which is expected to be ready by February.

Another station at Serangoon North is scheduled to open later next year.

Smart Automobile operates the first and largest fleet of CNG-taxis here with more than 110 plying the roads.

As of September, there were about 240 privately-owned CNG-fuelled vehicles and 130 CNG-powered taxis on the Republic's roads.

Compared to diesel-fuelled vehicles, CNG-powered vehicles produce 76 per cent less carbon monoxide and about 99 per cent less of the cancer-causing chemical benzene. —


First CNG station on mainland opens next year
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 22 Nov 07;

SINGAPORE'S first retail station on the mainland dispensing environment-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) for cars will open early next year, with at least another three to four more such CNG outlets to come in the following 12 months.

The first such 'green fuel' service - which will kick off at the service station of Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) in Jalan Buroh in Jurong - is being jointly launched by SembCorp Gas and SPC. SPC is a member of the Keppel Group while SembCorp Gas is a member of SembCorp Industries.

'The retail price of the CNG will be announced later,' a joint statement by the two companies said.

SembCorp Gas director Francis Gomez said: 'Over the next year, we intend to widen our CNG retail service to another three to four locations where piped natural gas is available.'

He added: 'In time to come, we will also offer total packaged solutions to enable fleet operators to convert to CNG.'

Although a SembCorp spokeswoman declined to say where these other CNG retail locations will be, she said that they need not necessarily be joint ventures with SPC, and could be with other parties.

For the first outlet, the CNG will be supplied and retailed by SembCorp Gas at SPC's service station in Jalan Buroh.

The CNG facility, which is connected to SembCorp Gas' underground pipelines, will be owned and operated by SembCorp Gas.

Currently, there are only around 350 vehicles here which can use CNG, although the number is expected to grow with increasing environmental awareness.

The Jalan Buroh station will be the first CNG retail outlet on mainland Singapore. Currently, the only CNG refuelling station - which is owned and operated by SembCorp Gas - is on Jurong Island.

Another CNG player, Smart Energy - an affiliate of cab operator Smart Taxis - broke ground in September for a CNG station in Mandai Link.

It is scheduled to be completed before February next year. The company is also planning a second CNG station in Serangoon North by the first half of 2008.

Smart operates a fleet of 770 cabs of which 110 can run on CNG, and expects to buy at least 300 more cabs to be retrofitted to run on CNG. A Smart official reportedly said that Smart taxi drivers will get their CNG at 20-40 per cent less than the pump price of diesel, while other members of the public will get at least a 20 per cent discount.

Commenting on the latest SPC/SembCorp Gas CNG station, National Environment Agency CEO Lee Yuen Hee said: 'This is a significant development for both our motoring industry and motorists, as CNG becomes commercially available through a retail service station for the first time.'

'If more of such CNG retailing stations are set up across the island, it would help pave the way for more Singaporeans to opt for CNG vehicles,' he added.

SPC senior vice-president of marketing, Chris Keong, said: 'Being an energy company, corporate social responsibility has always been fundamental to SPC's way of doing business. We're especially proud to be the first to offer CNG at a service station on the mainland.'

Singapore gets first CNG retail service station early next year
Channel NewsAsia 21 Nov 07

SINGAPORE: The first retail service station to sell compressed natural gas (CNG) will be opened early next year.

Motorists will then be able to fill up their CNG tanks as easily as pumping petrol or diesel at Singapore Petroleum Company's (SPC's) service station in Jalan Buroh.

The retail price of the CNG is still not known.

Although SembCorp Gas will own and operate the CNG facility, which is connected to SembCorp Gas' underground pipelines, the retail service is operated at SPC's service station.

Currently, the only CNG refuelling station, which is owned and operated by SembCorp Gas, is on Jurong Island.

Plans are underway to widen the service across Singapore as CNG motoring gains acceptance. There are currently about 350 CNG cars in Singapore. - CNA/ac