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LNG
While the U.S. has substantial supplies of domestic natural gas, with additional supplies coming from Canada, companies are also prepared to import natural gas from outside of North America as needed to supplement supply.
Natural gas can be transported by specially designed ocean-worthy LNG tankers. In order to prepare the natural gas for transport, it is cooled to -260 degrees Fahrenheit, converting it into a liquid. In this liquid state, called Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG, it takes up about one six hundredth of the volume of gaseous natural gas –that’s similar to reducing the volume of a beach ball to the volume of a ping-pong ball, according to The Center for LNG.
According to the federal government, in 2011 there were 9 terminals in the United States that can import natural gas from sources outside of North America, up from four just a few years ago. Six of these terminals are located in Gulf Coast and three are located along the Atlantic Ocean. Once the LNG tanker reaches the terminal, the LNG is converted back to its gaseous state and transported through a pipeline for distribution.
Because of the abundant supplies and prices of domestically produced natural gas, LNG has not played a significant role in natural gas supply in the United States in recent years.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that in 2010 LNG accounted for about one percent of all natural gas consumption in the United States. While imports have come from several countries, Trinidad is the number one supplier of LNG to the United States. Internationally, however, LNG plays an extremely significant role and has for many years in countries with few of their own resources, such as Japan.
The federal government, working with the individual states, plays a prominent role in determining where it will allow LNG terminals to be sited and built in the United States. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authority to approve the siting, construction, and operation for onshore facilities and for facilities located in state waters. The U.S. Maritime Administration has permitting authority for facilities in federal waters. The US Coast Guard is responsible for security while the vessels are in transit and at port. These agencies work with stakeholders, including state government and citizens, before granting approvals.
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Map of U.S. LNG Terminals |
The Department of Energy’s Office of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities regulates natural gas imports and exports under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act of 1938. The office is responsible for maintaining statistics on North American natural gas trade, and overseeing the Office of Fossil Energy's international programs pertaining to natural gas and petroleum.
For more information
- Click here to see the U.S. Department of Energy’s site on LNG.
- Click here to The Center for LNG
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