gram—employee benefits, workers' compensation, property liability insur- ance, credit card processing—and we welcome their involvement with event planning, committees, and educational retail programming, especially in gov- ernment relations focus and at the Pacific Oil Conference," said Rinehart.
INDUSTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS
n Gulf Oil adds LNG-powered trucks to its fleet
Gulf Oil LP (Framingham, Mass.), has announced that it has deployed 34 transport trucks that run on liquefied natural gas. In addition, Gulf will soon be supplying and distributing LNG as a cost-effective, clean alternative fuel to customers in the transportation sector and other interested bulk users. Gulf's move into the LNG marketplace is part of
the company's ongoing strategy to diver- sify its energy offerings and provide the marketplace with a fuel alternative that is cheaper, cleaner, and domestic. "Investing in LNG-powered vehicles
is an important step for Gulf Oil and for our nation," said Joe Petrowski, Chief Executive Officer of the Cumberland Gulf Group of Companies. "Natural gas can provide significant cost benefits as a transportation fuel source, while burning cleaner and reducing depen- dence on foreign oil." "We intend to convert more of our
fleet and to supply and distribute LNG to our customers," said Laura Scott, senior vice president of new business ventures. "The economic benefits are remarkable. For example, fleets that have more than 10 vehicles that use at least 20,000 gallons per year in a 'return- to-base operation' can expect to lock in an after-tax internal rate of return in
the 20 to 35 percent range. For our own fleet, we locked in a five year discount against diesel costs to guarantee a sig- nificant return on investment." Gulf's new vehicles are Peterbilt 386
liquefied natural gas trucks incorporat- ing Westport™ Heavy Duty 15 liter high- pressure direct injection (HPDI) systems. Gulf will assist its fleet customers in all aspects of conversion, including vehicle selection, acquisition, hedging, opera- tions, and regulatory requirements. "At Gulf, we believe the most effec-
tive way to increase market penetra- tion for natural gas in the transporta- tion sector is for large, centrally-fueled fleets that self-supply to lock in the current spread between natural gas and diesel, which will ensure a return on their investment even if the price of crude oil declines back below $75 per barrel," said Ron Sabia, president of Gulf Oil. "They will know on a
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