Caterpillar Embraces Natural Gas

Caterpillar announced at the recent Natural Gas for High Horsepower Applications (HHP) Summit its intentions to go 'all-in' on natural gas and produce even more natural gas-fueled equipment and engines for a variety of applications.

The HHP Summit, the first event of its kind, attracted hundreds of executives from across the globe representing the rail, marine, mining, drilling, earthmoving and power generation industries. The event examined the economic and environmental benefits of using the clean-burning, domestically abundant natural gas in high horsepower applications.

Joel Feucht, director of gas engine strategy for Energy & Power Systems, stated, "We have decided to go all-in on gas. We are going to invest because we see a long-term, global opportunity. Large engines are going gas. It's not debatable; it's our conclusion."

Caterpillar will provide natural gas fuel as an option for engines across its many high horsepower lines for marine, rail, mining, earthmoving and drilling operations. The company recently announced its first expected liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered products will likely include Cat^® 793, 795 and 797 mining trucks, and locomotives produced by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) of Progress Rail.

There is a significant economic incentive to move to natural gas considering current gas users powering high horsepower equipment are realizing a cost savings of 30 to 50 percent. New technologies expanding access in North America have also contributed to the low-cost of natural gas.

Abundant global gas reserves are another major motivating factor. China's annual output of shale gas is expected to skyrocket from near zero to 6.5 billion cubic meters in 2015 and at least 10 times that by 2020. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) more than doubled its estimate of technically recoverable shale gas reserves in the US to 827 trillion cubic feet (23.4 trillion cubic meters).

Gas continues to be a significant opportunity for Caterpillar. It could translate into doubling sales for gas applications every four or five years. It's a game changer and we have a clear strategy to enable our success in this exciting market.