RAG.Gas.Mobile

Fill up with domestically produced natural gas in Kremsmünster

Vienna/Kremsmünster, 10 September 2016 – At an open day held on 10 September 2016, members of the public had the chance to look around RAG’s new natural gas filling station in Krift, Kremsmünster. Visitors had the opportunity to test drive natural gas vehicles from various manufacturers and learn about the advantages of gas as a fuel.

RAG has been producing domestic natural gas and oil in Upper Austria for over 60 years – from the region, for the region. A state-of-the-art compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station has been built at RAG’s site on Schlierbacher Strasse between Kremsmünster and Wartberg.

The filling station has been open to private and business customers 24 hours a day since the beginning of June 2016. Payment can be made by Maestro card or credit card, while business customers can also use their RAG refuelling cards.
 

Natural gas offers a wide range of advantages as an alternative fuel:

  • 50% cut in refuelling costs
  • Environmentally friendly
  • High driving range
  • Minimal nitrogen oxide emissions
  • No fine particulate emissions
  • Same performance as petrol and diesel
  • As safe as petrol and diesel
  • Extensive filling station network in Austria
  • Wide choice of vehicles
  • Biogas makes vehicles climate neutral

 

The future of gas

There are large reserves of natural gas worldwide, but it can also be produced renewably. This is why RAG is also focusing on producing gas from renewable energy and biogas, alongside its traditional natural gas production operations. The Underground Sun Storage research facility – the only plant of its kind in the world – was constructed in October 2015 in Pilsbach, Upper Austria for this purpose. Researchers are testing the storage of methanised hydrogen produced from solar and wind power (using power to gas technology) in an underground natural gas reservoir. This groundbreaking project is supported by Austria’s Climate and Energy Fund. RAG CEO Markus Mitteregger commented: “We believe that the use of gaseous fuels – especially in transportation – can make an important contribution to reaching climate protection targets. Gas can now be produced renewably, it can be transported out of sight underground, and it can be stored in large quantities. So at RAG we have started a number of initiatives aimed at boosting the use of gas as a fuel for road vehicles. We have systematically changed our own fleet over to gas-powered vehicles, and further natural gas filling stations are planned.”As Europe’s fourth largest gas storage operator, RAG plays a vital role in energy security of supply.

www.rag-gas-mobil.at
www.rag-austria.at
 

More information and Contact:

Ing. Stefan Heitzendorfer
Marketing und Vertrieb von „Erdgas als Kraftstoff“
RAG Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft, Krift 50, 4550 Kremsmünster
T: +43 50724-7206
E: stefan.heitzendorfer@rag-austria.at 


Mag. Elisabeth Kolm
Pressesprecherin
RAG Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft, Schwarzenbergplatz 16, A-1015 Wien
T: +43 50724-5448
E: elisabeth.kolm@rag-austria.at

60 years of domestic mineral production in Upper Austria

Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft (RAG) has been producing natural gas and mineral oil in Upper Austria for approximately 60 years. In that time, a total of nine million tonnes of crude oil and 22 billion cubic metres of gas have been produced in Upper Austria. Today, production takes place at 57 oil wells and 99 gas wells in Upper Austria. RAG produces around 120,000 tonnes of crude oil and 220 million cubic metres of gas in Austria each year.
Domestic production of oil by RAG and OMV is helping to reduce Austria’s high import dependency of 90% and makes a key contribution to the economy.

RAG’s annual production is roughly equivalent to the quantity required by industry in Upper Austria for manufacturing operations.

There is no substitute for oil in large parts of the economy, where it plays a valuable role – above all the chemical industry, where it as an essential base material. It is an irreplaceable ingredient in over 90% of all chemical products, including plastics, tyres, road surfaces, detergents, cosmetics and fertilisers.

Oil is also used in technology that is essential to the Energiewende, or energy transformation – such as insulation for power stations and pipelines, in solar cells and in wind turbines. About 45% of the components in a wind turbine are made from oil or petrochemical products, and the blades will not turn without suitable lubrication. A wind turbine requires between 500 and 600 litres of high-quality lubricating oil a year in order to keep turning.