Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be back again. I hope there's no vote today, Merv. You said there wasn't, so thank you so much, although every vote is a good vote.
My agenda is going to be very simple. I'll talk about Encana as an industry natural gas supplier, describe some applications and innovations, and give you a couple of recommendations.
Natural gas is abundant, affordable, clean, reliable, and a domestic solution. Encana is one of the largest natural gas suppliers in North America, with 40% of our plays in Canada and 60% in the U.S. As we start looking at a game changer and talk about innovation, it is really around looking at the supply of natural gas. It is very abundant. We estimate there's over a 100-year supply in terms of what we're currently doing.
On transportation, the biggest displacement would be around light duty, but again a lot of emphasis has been on heavy duty. We're also looking at applications for the marine side and the rail side and at operations such as drilling rigs.
What's Encana's role? Clearly it's about education and awareness. It's leading by example. Our own fleet is running on natural gas. Our oil rigs are running on natural gas. We look at collaboration, which is a very important piece as we start looking at the natural gas industry.
Why is liquefied natural gas important in transportation? It's clearly due to economics. If you're looking at a competitive situation with the U.S., we need to be looking at the competition side. I'll reference Robert Trucking out of Quebec. They purchased 180 natural gas trucks. They are a leader in this country, not only in the greening they undertake with their training, but also in their transportation. LNG is around 20% to 40% cheaper than diesel on an equivalency basis.
We chill LNG to -162 degrees Celsius, transport it to a plant or a station, and then dispense it by pump. Encana has pioneered mobile refuelers, so we can go to a yard of heavy-duty trucks and fill them on location.
If you look at the time zone for different milestones, the first marine gas engine was built and patented in 1860. The first LNG facility was in 1912. The patents for barges carrying liquid gas were in 1914. Then you start looking at the first U.S. LNG export in 1969. The first LNG import terminal was built in the U.S. in 1971. The first LNG plant in the U.S. to service the transportation market was built in 1994. In 2003, the conventional diesel locomotive engine was replaced by a smaller natural gas turbine. Again you're starting to see the utilization of natural gas, particularly in the U.S.
The Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge deepwater port opened in 2005. The very first LNG mining truck in the U.S. was in 2010. There are 26 LNG vessels in operation worldwide in 2012. When you start looking at the application of marine rail and heavy-duty trucks, you see LNG starting to get a foothold in the transportation grid.
For LNG supply, there are peak facilities in both Canada and the U.S. We can ship LNG by rail, transport, and intermodal means. When you start thinking about the train system in Canada and the U.S., you realize you have a distribution network for LNG anywhere you want to go.
On the marine side, the Staten Island Ferry in the U.S. has converted over to LNG. Some foreign countries, such as Japan, are looking at transporting in and out with LNG to service their power needs, particularly now in trying to displace nuclear.
If you start looking at the elements in terms of different vehicles, you see that if you have one locomotive, it burns as much as 96 cars. One mining hauler truck is equivalent to burning 142 cars of gasoline. One rig is 426 cars, and one passenger ferry burns as much fuel as 1,160 cars. If you're starting to look at displacement of diesel, clearly natural gas is the way to go.
President Obama has made that commitment in a series of state of the nation addresses in looking at an executive order, and most recently there is their blueprint for energy in terms of weaning themselves off foreign oil. Seventy per cent of foreign oil goes to transportation in the U.S., and clearly that is a priority in the executive agenda in the U.S.
In terms of the corridors in Canada, we're looking at the eastern Quebec-Windsor corridor and the corridor from Edmonton to Vancouver in terms of facilitating those corridors to switch over to natural gas. In terms of global trends, you can look at the European experience, where many vehicles have switched over to natural gas. As well, there are opportunities for redesigning engines and so forth.
In terms of distribution, I'd point to some very innovative practices going on in home refuelling. If you have a natural gas line for your barbecue, you can install a natural gas system for refuelling your car. Currently it's $1,500 to install in the U.S. and $4,000 to purchase. What we're trying to do, working with some partners in the U.S., is get that price down from $5,000 to $1,000 as an appliance in your house.
In terms of innovations, clearly one of the greatest examples in Canada is Westport Innovations. Using innovation out of UBC and rolled out as a commercial entity, they have developed a 15-litre natural gas engine. Now they're developing a 11.9-litre engine, and that is much more attuned to the small commercial fleets.
With regard to tanks, the 3M company has developed a new material, and Chesapeake Energy in the U.S. will partner with 3M on the tank material. Using nanoparticulate, it will be 20% lighter and have a 10% to 20% greater capacity. As nanotechnology comes to the foreground, it certainly has greater applications.
President Obama has also indicated that there will be significant dollars for the Department of Energy to look at infrastructure for tanks, home refuelling, and stations. There are a lot of innovations related to stations. Quantum is a producer of tanks for natural gas. They're looking at shorter and thicker tanks. Vision natural gas vehicles produced in the U.S. will travel 390 kilometres.
The important thing that you're starting to see in the U.S. is their look at standards, particularly in terms of particulate. They're looking at PM2.5. because the particulate coming out of gas-fired generation plants, diesel trucks, and so forth relates to issues around health, respiratory disease, and so forth.
In other innovations, Italy, with Fiat, has done a lot of research, and again, Fiat owns Chrysler. I'm hoping everyone saw the article in The Globe and Mail yesterday in regard to natural gas vehicles. Chrysler announced a Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck. That's an OEM version. If you have the opportunity, we'd invite you to Vancouver to look at that truck at GLOBE 2012, where it will be displayed for the first time in Canada.
As you may be aware, Natural Resources Canada has embarked on a road map, and the road map is now looking at the standards and the education sides.
Finally, as some recommendations, we need to do a better job in terms of applied research on the natural gas side for all modes of transportation. We need to align our standards with the US. As I said last time, I would humbly ask for you to start looking at some funding programs in 2013 for municipalities that want to green their fleet.
Thank you so much.