American Power Group Inc. (APG), a subsidiary of GreenMan Technologies Inc., recently worked with Linde North America and EQT Corp. to perform a dual-fuel diesel/liquefied natural gas (LNG) conversion on a drilling rig operating in the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia.
The stationary power application uses APG's proprietary Turbocharged Natural Gas conversion technology, which is also applicable to transportation applications. Lyle Jensen, president and CEO of GreenMan, says demand for its dual-fuel solution is increasing in the heavy-duty vehicle sector, as well as among oil and gas, marine, industrial and other end markets.
EQT, an integrated energy company, is focusing much of its current business on natural gas production and distribution in the Appalachian area. The pilot project with APG, which uses Linde technology to convert well-head gas to LNG on site, could be the first of additional rig conversions in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, EQT says.
‘We also are pleased to see our recently announced marketing relationship with Linde North America begin to generate revenue,’ Jensen says. ‘APG is having notable success in converting diesel engines and diesel pumps with well-head and pipeline gas. But a majority of the rigs are not logistically close to these sources of fuel, so LNG makes perfect sense.’
