Trends and Markets in Liquefied Natural Gas
Author: Rob Shepherd Date: 4/1/1999 (PDF, 200KB)
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is essentially a niche fuel. Liquefying and shipping gas is expensive, so the LNG route is attractive for developers only where there is no local market or where capacity in the local market is insufficient to take all the available local supplies. LNG requires large investments by the buyers in terminal and regasification facilities, so it generally flourishes only where there is a shortage of indigenous gas supplies and where competition from pipeline gas is limited. In bulk, LNG is suitable for transport only by sea, so its use in landlocked areas is confined to small peak shaving plants or isolated locations such as central Australia. This Note reviews trends in the industry.