GE Oil & Gas is collaborating with Chongqing Endurance Industry Stock Co. Ltd (Endurance), manufacturer of oil and gas, environmental and auto equipment, for the purchase of 260 CNG In A Box™ systems over the next three years. A    Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was announced in conjunction with the grand opening of GE’s high-speed reciprocating compressor manufacturing facility in Shenyang, China.

  GE’s CNG In A Box system provides Endurance and its customers with a small-scale, plug-and-play compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling solution, helping to increase local natural gas fueling infrastructure throughout China. It is designed specifically to address the country’s rapid urbanization—which is creating an increased demand for fuel for vehicles and industrial uses —and to alleviate increased stress on its limited natural gas pipelines. The transition to natural gas fueling stations falls in line with China’s current trend toward converting its fueling efforts from gasoline and diesel to cleaner, more economical natural gas.

  “China’s vast reserves of natural gas, shallow coal-bed methane and recoverable shale gas allow it to gradually transition from traditional fuel sources to efficient and environmentally friendly natural gas options, enabling the country to lessen its dependence on foreign fuel supplies,” said Lin Chaoyang, chairman, Endurance Industry. “Through the implementation of natural gas solutions such as GE’s CNG In A Box technology, Endurance will help to greatly reduce CO2 emissions throughout the country.”

  As a GE ecomagination qualified product, CNG fueling through the CNG In A Box solution reduces CO2 emissions by 24 percent (2.2 metric tons per vehicle, per year as compared with gasoline[1]), and its CO, NOx, PM and VOC reduction benefits are even greater. A vehicle using CNG can reduce annual fuel costs by up to 40 percent, assuming 27,500 miles per year driven, gasoline priced at USD 3.50/gallon and CNG at USD 2.09/gasoline gallon equivalent.

  The CNG fuel station configuration that GE is supplying to Endurance features a standard-sized CNG In A Box unit with multiple, smaller “daughter” stations running off of it. This design minimizes the need for pre-existing natural gas pipelines. The monitoring capabilities of the larger station enable it to automatically feed into the smaller stations when fuel is running low to reduce wait times typically associated with China’s current natural gas fueling infrastructure.

  An integral part of GE’s natural gas solutions is its high-speed reciprocating (HSR) compressor. These compressors are the core technology in the creation of small and modular gas monetization solutions from optimizing production at a gas or oil well site, creating power in remote areas to transforming the transportation industry with CNG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) alternatives. GE’s new Shenyang HSR compressor facility creates a local supply chain for this technology, cutting lead times by up to 50 percent for regional customers and providing local service support. During the first phase of operation, the Shenyang facility will build to a production capacity of 300 HSR units per year, with the potential for further expansion as the local industry develops. This new capacity for the China market is in addition to GE’s primary HSR manufacturing facility, located near Houston, Texas.

  The first sets of HSR units produced from the Shenyang facility already have been purchased by Chinese customers CIMC Enric and Jerrywon Energy Equipments Co., Ltd. The new facility, which opened in June, was built at a preexisting GE facility in Shenyang that specializes in renewable energy and flow and process technologies.

  “Together with Endurance and other regional customers, we can continue to build China’s natural gas infrastructure and support its efforts to build a sustainable energy future,” said Xu Xin, general manager, GE Oil & Gas, China. “The grand opening of our new manufacturing facility in Shenyang brings our advanced CNG and LNG technology closer than ever before to our Chinese customers.”