Half a million NGVs in Colombia

© NGV JournalWith 700 CNG stations and 500 thousand NGVs, Colombia can hardly retreat from natural gas. And why should it?

Within the rather impressive number of methane-fueled people and cargo carriers in Colombia there are passenger cars, light- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, dump trucks and cement mixers. Well, after all natural gas is a versatile fuel, isn't it?

Reaching the threshold of half a million NGVs took the country almost 30 years (29 to be precise) – conversions to CNG in Colombia started in 1986. Do a little math and you'll see this means fitting over 17 thousand CNG systems per year, which is by no measure a bad average. That's one conversion per some 2800 citizens every year and now there is one NGV per approx. 100 Colombians.

According to Paul Roda of the Colombian Association of Natural Gas (Naturgas), CNG has been the fastest growing motor fuel sector in the past 10 years and – given it offers 30% savings over diesel – it's bound to remain this way. There are currently over 700 filling stations in the country, particularly in large cities and along frequently-used freight corridors. Way to go, Colombia!