Liquefied Natural Gas - A Cool Source of Energy

There is increased interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies as a way to help meet rising natural gas demand. Just 1-2 percent of the gas currently consumed in the US is supplied by LNG. By 2010, that number is expected to grow to 10 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). At present, there are five U.S. facilities equipped to deliver LNG into the Lower-48 states: in Everett, Mass; Cove Point, Md.; Elba Island, Ga.; Lake Charles, La; and a new facility offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Another facility operates in Puerto Rico. There have been numerous proposals to build additional facilities, especially on the West Coast, which has none. Proposals for LNG facilities must go through a rigorous review by the federal government (and state and local authorities, too) before they can receive a permit allowing construction to begin.

LNG allows the US to tap into global gas markets and to diversify our gas supplies. For example, much of the LNG that the US receives comes from Trinidad. To ship LNG, gas is chilled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, turning it to an odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive liquid. In its liquid form, the gas takes up one six hundredth the space occupied by an equivalent amount of vapor, a little like reducing a car to the size of your fist. The liquid is pumped onto an LNG tanker for ocean shipment to the U.S. where it is returned to vapor and sent through pipelines for use in home heating and cooling, or in factories or producing electricity. LNG only becomes flammable if vaporized and stringent safety and fire prevention controls are in place on all ships and at all LNG terminals.

LNG has a long and outstanding safety record with delivery across the oceans for 45 years including more than 40,000 LNG cargo deliveries and more than 60 million tanker miles traveled. Today, more than 150 LNG tankers deliver LNG to more than 40 ports around the world. Engineering designs and security measures are constantly reviewed, tested, improved, and updated. Many countries have relied on LNG for years. For example, all of the gas consumed in Japan comes from LNG imports.

Since September 11, 2001, citizens have increased concerns about the vulnerability of LNG tankers to terrorist attack. In Boston Harbor, for example, the U.S. Coast Guard has implemented additional security measures and put the waters near any LNG ship off limits to small boats or any kind of shipping. But, according to the Department of Energy, LNG tankers are not likely to explode. First, only if LNG vaporizes and mixes with air in the correct proportions does it become flammable. Second, the tankers are solidly built to withstand collision or bad weather and their multiple-hull design has proven especially robust. Over the last few decades, there have been only eight accidents with LNG tankers in which the cargo was spilled, and in no case was there explosion or fire. In almost all cases when LNG is released, it regasifies and disperses, rising harmlessly into the atmosphere, according to DOE.

Other technologies

Energy companies and universities have spent millions of dollars to create a permanently liquid form of gas that could be easily transported all over the world, much like oil. "Gas-to-liquids" (GTL) technology is making progress, but issues related to cost-effectiveness and marketplace applications are still being explored. Because there are vast amounts of natural gas reserves in many countries, the search continues. Unlike LNG, transformed gas-to-liquids would remain in that form, dramatically reducing transportation costs and making shipping easier worldwide.