Naturalgas General Manager Hasan Tahsin Turan,''Naturalgas Is The Leading Natural Gas Supplier Of Turkey''

Mario Dalsarfati, Naturalgas Operations and Business Development Director:

"THE PROGRESS REGARDING THE LOGISTICS SECTOR DOING WORKS WITH LOW CARBON WILL COME FROM NATURAL GAS"

Stating that they have been the leader of the natural gas market for the last two years, Turan and Dalsarfati mentioned about Naturalgas's future plans, station network and many details, as well as the predictions of the future of LNG / CNG, for the readers of My Truck Magazine.

"We Produce Solutions in Many Points of Turkey"

"Our company, which was established in 2004, has significantly improved its investments and fields of activity after Global Investment Holding became our main shareholder in 2012. Naturalgas is currently Turkey's leading transported natural gas supplier. The auto side is just one of the things we do as Naturalgas. We are working on stations for natural gas vehicles, which we call auto CNG. The main subsidiary of Naturalgas is CNG and LNG business, which we call pouring. We deliver natural gas using CNG or LNG to points such as factories, highway construction sites, power generation facilities and hotels where natural gas cannot reach by pipeline in Turkey. We call this sector the transport natural gas market. We have been the leader of the natural gas market for the last two years. We are in competition with more local companies on the CNG side and with larger companies such as OMV on the LNG side. On the other hand, since 2017, we have been delivering natural gas to the districts of Turkey that do not reach natural gas through the pipeline. We're actually building a virtual pipeline. Currently, we have reached 51 districts. "

"Auto CNG's Share Among Our Revenues Is Very Low But This Is A Work In Which Our Future Expectations Are High"

“Another line of our business is the auto side. We supply CNG to natural gas vehicles. Another is the well CNG business. We ensure that natural gas from wells that are not transmitted to natural gas pipelines is taken and delivered to the pipelines as CNG. We recently opened the company to the public. We are both a strong company as a capital, and as a company that has made its operation very high quality over the years and constantly improves itself with a good team, we also look at different jobs. Auto CNG has a very low share in our revenues, but it is a business where our future expectations are high. With the acquisition of Socar Turkey LNG Sales Inc in October 2020, we started to operate actively in the field of LNG as well as strengthening the sales volume, facility and equipment infrastructure in the field of CNG. Thanks to our expanding infrastructure, we have completed our product range in the natural gas sector by supplying LNG to our customers, and we have increased the number of our stations with this acquisition.”

Emphasizing that the use of natural gas should be supported by the state due to high costs, Naturalgas Operations and Business Development Director Mario Dalsarfati comments on the issue. Dalsarfati said that; “The progress regarding the logistics sector doing work with low-carbon will come from natural gas. We are trying to keep this system alive by doing what needs to be done. If the support comes, the industry will react much faster than we anticipate.”

"Auto CNG is Very Important to Us"

“The technology we used in 2012 was mono fuel CNG conversion technology. In other words, it was the process of intervening in the engine's own parts and converting the working principle from diesel to natural gas as if it were a gasoline engine. We had to intervene in the engine. This technology is very common in the world and as Naturalgas, 25 of our tow trucks operate in their transformed form in 2012-2013. CNG requires constant maintenance and control, especially when it comes to mono fuel conversion. Although we used this product internally at that time, we decided that it was not marketable. Naturalgas also had a significant growth potential in the industrial CNG distribution area. We made a strategy change and first decided to expand Naturalgas on the industrial side. We were gradually withdrawn from Auto CNG and only certain stations remained. However, the use of natural gas in vehicles was one of Naturalgas's founding objectives. This was one of the most important factors in the acquisition of the Socar LNG company. Although it seems like there is a declining auto CNG, it is very important for us.”

"We Want to Provide Infrastructure That Can Provide Carbon Emission Reduction Opportunity"

“Under today's conditions, we want to provide the logistics companies with the infrastructure that can provide carbon emission reduction by keeping the stations alive and building new stations. As of April 2021, we have 8 active stations where we can supply CNG. We have a high-capacity station in Istanbul Alibeyköy where we serve Istanbul city buses. It also comes to the public and logistics vehicles. One of our stations is in Çayırova. As of today, our active stations are in Bolu, Bursa Gemlik, Eskişehir, Konya, Mersin and Aksaray. In addition to these, we are opening our station in Bursa Mustafa Kemal Pasha in May. Our station in Izmir Kemal Pasha will be opened up to 2-3 months during the license process. With these stations, there are 10 stations in total. Also in our plan is Burdur station which will complete the Ankara, Çorlu and Antalya lines. Our goal is to make these 3 stations at least openable by the end of the year. "

"We Are Planning To Open New Stations With Petrol Ofisi"

"We say to everyone working on the main industrial lines and main logistics routes that “Look, all our CNG stations are available and you will be able to get fuel as you wish.” Our 10 stations will be 22, including 12 of “Petrol Ofisi”. All 22 stations will be completed by the end of 2022. We started 3 of the 12 stations (Ankara, Çorlu, Burdur) with “Petrol Ofisi”. We are planning to open new stations with “Petrol Ofisi”. On top of these, the next 9 stations will be in the 2022-2023 plan. The first 8 stations we opened, 2 new stations and 3 stations we will open with “Petrol Ofisi” will meet the needs of the main lines in Turkey. With the response of the customers, we will begin to move to the Black Sea line, the eastern line and more to Central Anatolia. "

"We Think CNG is the Right Product in the Logistics Sector"

"LNG is liquid natural gas and this technology is used in vehicles in Europe. There are also some advantages and disadvantages. As Naturalgas, we also have LNG operations on the industrial side, but we think that CNG is the right product in the logistics sector. Because the biggest advantage of LNG is that it has a range of up to 1,300 km. In CNG, it remains at 600-650 kilometers in dual fuel, but the CNG range remains at 450-500 km in single fuel, mono fuel. We have solved it in a dual fuel product. There is a range of up to 650 km where you can eliminate the range problem by switching to diesel in dual fuel CNG product at the same time. The disadvantage is that the station network is very limited. There is currently one active station. It will take a significant amount of time for the number of stations to increase. Another downside is investment costs. The purchasing costs of these products are very high. When you buy a new LNG-CNG vehicle, today's rate and foreign prices come to very serious figures. LNG vehicles are at higher prices than CNG vehicles. If there are more than 200 CNG tow trucks in the market right now, there are around 15-20 LNG tow trucks, although we are not sure. "

"We Offer It As A Solution In Existing Working Vehicles"

“There is no intervention in the engine of the vehicle in dual fuel. You set up the CNG kit, the brain and all equipment to inject natural gas into the vehicle. There was intervention to the engine in mono fuel. This system can be installed and removed completely. In other words, a system that is not played with the mechanics of the engine. In today's conditions, there are tens of thousands of trucks and all these companies do not have the power to buy new LNG and CNG vehicles. We offer this as a solution for existing working vehicles. The double fuel CNG conversion investment made is paying for itself in about one and a half 2 years. The selling price of a complete package is 5 thousand 900 dollars. There is a company in Turkey called Aldeo that we trust in its work and started to produce this product in a local way 5 years ago. We are a cooperation partner with Aldeo and we recommend it to our companies in this field. The product is transformed and delivered to customers for not more than a day. There is no vehicle separation here. We do not only make a conversion before the warranty period of the zero vehicle expires. ”

"There Are Too Many Companies That Say Carbon Emission Is As Important As Economic Benefit"

“When we calculate today's diesel prices, logistics companies have a significant discount. Considering these discounts and the current price of CNG, there is a fuel saving of about 15 percent. This means a saving of 25 thousand liras on an average vehicle that makes 120 thousand kilometers per year. A conversion cost of almost 45 thousand lira has an annual saving equivalent of 25 thousand lira. A transformation investment that pays off for approximately one and a half 2 years. In today's economic conditions, it is not easy to do business with only environmental awareness; however, today we encounter too many companies that want to reduce their environmental perception and carbon emission. Around 20 percent less carbon is emitted in dual fuel.”

"All Our Legislation Is According to European Standards"

"In Turkey, companies that have the capacity to transform within the framework of the permissions given by the Ministry of Industry get licenses. These companies process the conversion by using CNG and LNG in the license with the approval of the mechanical engineer. All our legislation is also valid in Europe, as these procedures are carried out in accordance with European standards and within the scope of the legislation. "

"The Development of This Work Is Slower In Countries Without State Support"

“As Naturalgas, we act for the future and bear great costs because we believe that that day will come in the future. According to NGVA Europe (European Natural Gas Vehicles Association), there are 26.5 million CNG-powered vehicles in the world. In the EU, it is predicted that 12 percent of passenger cars, 25 percent of light and heavy commercial vehicles and 33 percent of buses will run on natural gas in 2030. Italy has given government incentives for many years and now there are 1.2 million vehicles with CNG. The state giving such signals results in the market responding to it. "

"Logistics Companies and Multinational Companies are Very Important for Business Development"

“We started our new long-term formation in the auto CNG field at the beginning of this year. Our first priority is to adopt the applicability of the new technology in the field by all companies. We are trying to eliminate the negative situations experienced in the past and to improve our station network. Our preparatory process and our work continue with this preparation. We are currently meeting with logistics companies that may be included in the current network and corporate companies targeting carbon emission reduction, and we receive positive feedback. At the same time, we started negotiations with the cooperatives around our stations. "