Russian CNG Market to See Major Growth: Gazprom
Sales of compressed natural gas (CNG), used as a motor fuel, are set to reach 1bn m3 in Russia next year, Gazprom management committee member Vyacheslav Mikhalenko said at the St Petersburg International Gas Forum on October 3.
Sales reached 526mn m3 in 2017, up from 377mn m3 in 2013, according to Gazprom’s website. Rostov and Belgorod are currently the fastest-growing regional markets in the country, Mikhalenko said, and projects will be launched shortly to accelerate the pace of development in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad areas.
There are at present 420 CNG filling stations in Russia and around 181,000 gas-fuelled vehicles. Russia car manufacturer AvtoVAZ, the maker of the Lada series, has launched production of two new cars models equipped with gas engines – the Lada Vesta and Lada Largus, Mikhalenko said.
“The country has established all the prerequisites for a significant increase in the use of natural gas in transport,” the Gazprom executive said.