Tulsa Company Donates Synthetic Fuel To Montana Governor

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- An Oklahoma company has donated 3,000 gallons of synthetic fuel to the governor of Montana.<br/><br/>Governor Brian Schweitzer accepted the donation of a Dodge diesel pickup truck

Wednesday, June 21st 2006, 5:55 am

By: News On 6

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- An Oklahoma company has donated 3,000 gallons of synthetic fuel to the governor of Montana.

Governor Brian Schweitzer accepted the donation of a Dodge diesel pickup truck from Montana state Dodge dealers and the fuel to go with it on Monday.

The fuel from Syntroleum is supposed to burn cleaner than regular diesel and is made with Fischer-Tropsch technology, which converts coal or natural gas to fuel.

Schweitzer has been an advocate of synthetic fuels and has touted the Fischer-Tropsch process as a possible way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

He visited Syntroleum's Tulsa plant last year.

Schweitzer spokeswoman Sarah Elliot says the governor plans to use it for a while, and that other state agencies likely will have access to it.

The donation requires the state to keep detailed records of gas mileage and maintenance. That information will be used by Syntroleum and Daimler Chrysler for research.