October 3, 2024

Russia Skips Hybrids in Push for Natural Gas Cars

MOSCOW — Igor A. Samarsky of the southern Russian city of Krasnodar gets fuel economy on his 1998 Lada sedan that would make a Prius owner green with environmental envy.

For all of 120 rubles — about $3.80, or a little more than a gallon of regular unleaded fuel in the United States — he can drive 140 miles. The Toyota hybrid would need three gallons of gas to drive that distance.

The only drawback in Mr. Samarsky’s mind is his wife’s lingering fear that the car, which runs on methane gas, will explode on the way to the grocery store. “My wife was afraid, but I didn’t mind,” Mr. Samarsky, a mechanic, said of the methane fuel kit he installed himself by placing a high-compression tank in the trunk and a hose snaking to the engine.

“She said, ‘I won’t drive this car, it will blow up.’ But then she saw the savings, and she calmed down.”

Gazprom, the state-owned energy monopoly better known for heating houses and powering factories in Europe, is making a bet that natural gas cars are an alluring market for future growth, at home in Russia and in other European countries that have bought its gas. All the ingredients are in place for adoption of natural gas vehicles in Russia, the world’s second-largest gas producer after the United States, with economic and environmental payoffs.

Economically, it’s no contest at the pump compared with gasoline because natural gas, whose main component is methane, is so abundant and cheap in Russia. It costs about $2 a gallon less than gasoline. (For such comparisons, compressed gas is measured by its cost for a volume containing the same amount of energy as a gallon of gasoline.)

Lax regulations in Russia have already provided a foothold for natural gas for cars. Even before the auto industry officially joined in, do-it-yourself kits were readily available. Unlike the hybrids and plug-ins produced by brand-name automobile companies, many of the natural gas cars in Russia are aftermarket conversions. In Russia, a complete system can be bought for less than $1,000 at a roadside repair shop in parts of the country where natural gas is commonly used, like the region around Krasnodar.

Natural gas fuel systems in the United States, in contrast, are handled with extraordinary care. High standards are set for the tanks of compressed gas.

An advocacy group, Natural Gas Vehicles for America, estimates certified aftermarket kits are available for about 40 models of cars and trucks and cost $12,000 to $18,000. Four factory-equipped natural gas and dual-fuel cars are for sale in the United States today: the Honda Civic NG, the Dodge Ram 2500, the Chevy Silverado and the Ford F-250.

Long-haul truckers, fleet car operators and railways are adopting methane, Dave McCurdy, president of the American Gas Association, said in a telephone interview.

In Russia, natural gas has been adopted by lower-income and rural drivers, along with farmers and operators of light-duty trucks, said Yevgeny N. Pronin, director of the National Gas Motor Association of Russia, and also an executive at Gazprom in charge of marketing gas for transportation.

Gazprom, though, would like to see wider adoption. A large Russian carmaker, Russian Machines, this year announced a policy, endorsed by Gazprom, to include natural gas systems as standard on buses and light utility trucks, like the Gazelle.

The Russian government and Gazprom, though, are just now pressing aggressively for a switch to natural gas at home, where prices are about tied with the United States as the lowest in the world.

The wholesale price for natural gas at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, a standard contract for gas in the United States, was $3.33 per million British thermal units in February; the government-set domestic natural gas tariff in Russia this year is expected to average $3.87 for the same quantity.  

This is about one-quarter of the wholesale price of natural gas in other industrialized countries, like Britain or Germany, according to a study of Russia’s gas market released by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in February, meaning vehicle owners in Russia and the United States have the most to gain from converting to natural gas from gasoline or diesel.  

The biggest issue in Russia, as it will be in any country that tries a conversion, is where drivers can refuel.

In both the United States and Russian conversions, a dashboard switch allows a driver to choose the fuel type, and most drivers keep their gasoline tanks filled as a reserve.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/business/energy-environment/russia-skips-hybrids-in-push-for-natural-gas-cars.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Fed Minutes Send Shares Sharply Lower

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index posted its worst daily percentage decline since mid-November on Wednesday after minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting indicated widening divisions among Fed officials about the value of its efforts to reduce unemployment.

The S.P. 500 fell 1.2 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.8 percent, or about 108 points. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.5 percent.

“What Wall Street wants to hear is an absolute sign that the Fed will continue with Q.E. for the indefinite future,” said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at Landcolt Capital in New York, referring to quantitative easing. “When it says we may end it faster, that just raises the uncertainty and the market hates that.”

Energy companies’ shares were among the weakest. Devon Energy, an American oil and gas producer, reported a fourth-quarter loss as it wrote down the value of its assets by $896 million because of weak gas prices. Its shares were down 6.6 percent.

Toll Brothers, the luxury homebuilder, lost 9.1 percent after it reported first-quarter results well below analysts’ estimates.

SodaStream dropped 6.4 percent after the seller of home carbonated drink maker machines posted fourth-quarter earnings and provided a 2013 outlook.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of the 391 companies in the S.P. 500 that have reported results, 70.1 percent have exceeded analysts’ expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the last four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S.P. 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.6 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Data released on Wednesday suggested that the economy continued to show modest improvement. Groundbreaking to build new homes in the United States fell 8.5 percent in January, but new permits for construction rose to a four-and-a-half-year high. In addition producer prices rose in January for the first time in four months.

Equities have been strong recently, but they have traded within a narrow range for the last few weeks, suggesting valuations may be stretched at current levels.

“The market seems very tired and listless, and investors are prone to take profits now as they wait for the music to stop,” said Matt McCormick, money manager at Bahl Gaynor in Cincinnati.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Asian Markets Rise on Eurozone Factory Data

BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets rose Tuesday, as market confidence grew after the release of manufacturing data that showed improvement in Europe.

Benchmark oil rose above $100 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

Britain’s FTSE 100 opened after a three-day holiday, gaining 1 percent at 5,625.17.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 percent to 6,125.05 while France’s CAC-40 fell 0.7 percent to 3,199.95. Wall Street appeared headed for a mixed day of trading, with Dow Jones industrial futures up less than 0.1 percent to 12,158 and SP 500 futures flat at 1,252.50.

Asian stocks rose as post-holiday trade began to acquire momentum. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, on its first trading session of 2012, jumped 2.4 percent to close at 18,877.41. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 2.7 percent to 1,875.41 and Australia’s SP ASX 200 gained 1.1 percent at 4,101.20. Benchmarks in India, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia also rose.

Benchmarks in Japan, mainland China and Thailand remained closed for the extended New Year’s holiday.

Steadily improving economic news in the U.S. and continued growth in China are providing traders with reasons for optimism in 2012, despite a debt crisis in Europe that shows few signs of abating.

“Nobody expects much from Europe, but you can expect better things from the U.S. and China. So, I think the market will rise in 2012 mainly because we started in a very low base,” said Francis Lun, managing director at Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Oil-related stocks posted solid gains as the price of crude hovered above $100 per barrel. Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co., China’s largest oil and gas producer, jumped 4.5 percent. China Petroleum Chemical Co., Asia’s biggest oil refiner, gained 5.5 percent.

Other commodity shares headed upward. Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group added 3.3 percent. Newcrest Mining rose 3.7 percent and BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, rose 1.1 percent. Rival Rio Tinto added 1.8 percent.

Korean industrial shares posted solid gains. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the country’s leading shipbuilder, jumped 5.8 percent. Steel giant POSCO rose 3.1 percent. Hyundai Motor soared 4.2 percent.

On Monday, German and French stocks rose in light volumes as a reading of manufacturing activity in Europe improved in December from November.

But the purchasing managers index levels still show a fifth straight month of contraction — an indication of recession in the eurozone, analysts said.

“It seems unlikely that equity gains will be sustained over the rest of this week, with risk aversion set to remain elevated against the background of ongoing Eurozone debt and global growth concerns,” Credit Agricole CIB said in a research note.

Many of the world’s leading indexes are starting 2012 after a down year. Britain’s FTSE was off 5.6 percent by year end, Japan’s Nikkei fell 17 percent to its lowest close since 1982, and the Standard Poor’s 500 showed zero gain.

Data releases later in the week such as eurozone inflation on Wednesday and German factory orders and U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday will give traders more grist.

Benchmark crude for February delivery rose $1.76 to $100.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 82 cents to settle at $98.83 in New York on Friday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2994 from $1.2946 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 76.80 yen from 77.78 yen.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/01/02/business/AP-World-Markets.html?partner=rss&emc=rss