LNG Terminals

There are two types of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals: import terminals and export terminals. Both are located beside deep water for ships. Import terminals take liquid gas (LNG) from ships, store it in large cold tanks, then warm it to turn it back into gas. The gas is sent through pipelines to homes and factories. Export terminals do the opposite. They take natural gas from pipelines, supercool it to turn it into a liquid, and load it onto ships to send to other countries.

The advantage of LNG is that it takes up much less space than regular natural gas. When regular natural gas is supercooled to a liquid, its volume is divided by 600. (If a football field were reduced by 600, it would only be six inches long.) This makes it easier and enough cheaper to transport it by ships over long distances.

LNG terminals are regulated and inspected for safety. Leak detection, pressure sensing, and fire suppression systems are used everywhere. Nevertheless, there was a large explosion and fire at a Texas terminal in 2022. LNG is not dangerous as a liquid, but it can burn if it leaks, turns back into gas, and mixes with air. Every incident is taken as an opportunity to learn more about safety. The federal government is currently tightening rules for LNG terminals. It should be noted that LNG terminals are, as a rule, located at a distance from populated areas because of safety risks. (The proposed LNG export terminal in Chester flagrantly fails to follow this practice.)

LNG is important because it helps provide energy where there is no other source. It is cleaner than other fossil fuels, like coal and oil, because it makes less greenhouse gases. LNG terminals make it possible to move natural gas from places where it is found to places where it is needed to make electricity, heat homes, and run factories.

There is serious concern about building new LNG terminals, however. Investing in long-term fossil fuel projects risks locking countries into high-emission pathways, making it harder to meet climate targets like those set in the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, the gas industry is eager to build new export terminals, since fracking has increased the supply of gas beyond the amount the U.S. can use. (ChatGPT, edited)

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