By Javier E David
Despite the slow rate of adoption of natural gas to fuel motor vehicles, a confluence of trends in favor of natgas is shaping up to loosen the stranglehold petroleum has on the transportation fuel market, according to Citigroup.
In a lengthy research report this week, the bank cited rising global natgas supplies, its relatively cheap price and ongoing environmental concerns among factors that “virtually guaranteed” an era where natgas would challenge the dominance of crude and distillates in the transportation market. Specifically in the US, the shale boom transforming energy markets is providing a major impetus to natural gas, Citi said.
“These trends are building momentum and mutually reinforcing one another at the same time that new engine and battery technologies are emerging,” Citi’s analysts said. The bank cited “clear opportunities” for natgas to supplant oil, primarily as fuel for ships, gas powered vehicles and in generating power – a phenomenon already underway as utilities shift away from coal.
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