Tourmaline Oil Corp. And Clean Energy Fuels Company recently opened two new compressed natural gas fueling stations in Alberta, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to build the first commercial-grade public CNG fueling network in Western Canada. The new locations in Calgary and Grande Prairie, along with the Edmonton station which opened in April 2023, establish a crucial transportation corridor for trucking companies converting their fleets from diesel to CNG.

Powering long-haul trucks and other fleets with CNG results in reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter compared to traditional diesel vehicles.

“We are expanding our multi-year diesel displacement initiative by making CNG more readily available to heavy-duty trucking companies,” said Michael Rose, President and CEO of Tourmaline. “Right here in Alberta, we have the technology, an abundance of natural gas and now the infrastructure to facilitate transformative change in the transportation sector.

The $70 million joint development deal between Tourmaline and Clean Energy was announced in April 2023, along with their commitment to build up to 20 CNG fueling stations in Western Canada over the next five years. In just over a year, their customer base has grown to nine companies who have collectively replaced two million liters of diesel using CNG technology.

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“CNG adoption has continued to accelerate over the past year, as more companies recognize the benefits of replacing diesel with a reliable, easy-to-use and highly competitive fuel for fleets said Andrew Littlefair, President and CEO of Clean Energy. . “The development of this critical infrastructure comes at the perfect time as Cummins’ new X15N natural gas engine is introduced to the trucking industry and garnered rave reviews. We anticipate that the combination of more fueling points and new engine technology, ideally suited to the Canadian market, will pave the way for continued growth in CNG.

Cummins recently introduced its X15N natural gas engine to the Canadian and American heavy-duty truck market. Trucks equipped with pre-production models of the X15N have been tested by some of the most demanding fleets over the last year, including Walmart, Werner, Knight-Swift, FedEx Freight and UPS. It has been proven to provide diesel-comparable performance along with durability and reliability allowing fleets to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter without sacrificing ability.

Mullen Groupthe first company to support the Tourmaline and Clean Energy initiative, plans to leverage the new X15N engine as it prepares to nearly double its fleet of CNG-powered trucks.

“As one of North America’s largest logistics providers, Mullen Group is committed to being a leader in sustainability. Today, we operate one of the largest fleets of CNG powered trucks in the province of Alberta, now numbering 19 fully operational units, and we plan to deploy an additional 15 units as they become available. Our CNG fleet continues to perform well and now with the opening of these additional fueling stations we can position CNG units in additional markets, providing an ESG alternative to a wider range of customers,” Murray said Mullen, Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Mullen Group.

Once completed, the network of 20 stations could supply up to 3,000 natural gas trucks daily. Construction of the next CNG fueling station is expected to begin in Kamloops, British Columbia, with Fort McMurray and Fort St. John to follow.