Oklahoma City forum focuses on natural gas vehicles

Fallin said Oklahoma is expected to soon have more than 100 public CNG fueling stations. The state already is No. 1 in the nation in fueling stations per capita.

She said she wants more government entities to join the state in adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets because they can save money by switching to a cheaper fuel. Fallin said officials estimate CNG vehicles can save up to $20,000 in fuel costs during their life span.

Taylor Shinn, senior director of corporate development at Chesapeake Energy Corp., said CNG is a viable alternative to gasoline or diesel because the nation's booming supply of natural gas will limit price fluctuations.

He said the standard unit for pricing natural gas is a thousand cubic feet. That is enough to produce the equivalent of eight gallons of gasoline.

Shinn said that shields CNG from the same price spikes that are common for gasoline and diesel.

“That margin is there for the American public to use,” he said.