Expect CNG Price Hike as Tax Credit Expires

gas station

by | Dec 27, 2013

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gas stationCompressed natural gas (CNG) prices at the pump for cars and trucks will increase 30 percent at some stations because of a federal tax credit set to expire Jan. 31, FuelFix reports.

Most stations use the incentive — a 50-cent tax credit on each gasoline gallon-equivalent of natural gas sold — to cover costs.

But some, such as the 19 stations in in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico run by natural gas producer Apache pass the credit on to consumers as a fuel discount, FuelFix says. For example, Apache’s Houston refueling station currently charges $1.67 for each gasoline gallon equivalent of natural gas. The next cheapest station in the Houston area charges $2.04.

Apache spokesman Bill Mintz tells the website that once the tax credit expires, the company will raise its pump prices by 50 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent.

Apache has see an 88 percent jump in CNG sales at its stations in 2013, due to the low natural gas costs, Mintz says.

The number of natural gas vehicles on roadways worldwide will reach nearly 35 million by 2020, according to a Navigant Research report published in June.

As more natural gas vehicles hit the road, the need for refueling stations is becoming urgent, says a different Navigant Research report that predicts 40 percent of the stations that will be opened in the next two years will be in North America.  By 2020, there will be 30,000 stations worldwide, the report forecasts.

Photo Credit: gas station via Shutterstock

 

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