Who Produces LNG?

Thirteen countries currently produce and export LNG: Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Libya, Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, Brunei, Egypt, and the United States. Norway and Russia are constructing their first LNG liquefaction plants.

While there is a plant in Alaska that turns natural gas into LNG, the LNG that would be used in the lower-48 states will be imported from plants in these other countries. In these countries, the natural gas is produced from subsurface reservoirs and then put through a liquefaction process which cools the gas and reduces the volume by 600 times. Once liquefied the LNG is transferred onto large ocean-going tankers for delivery to the United States or other countries that import LNG. This safe and economical technology allows natural gas to be available worldwide.

U.S. LNG Imports & Exports - Click for larger image

LNG has been imported in the United States for more than three decades. In 2004, the suppliers to the United States were Trinidad and Tobago, Algeria, Malaysia, Australia, Nigeria, and Qatar.

LNG accounted for about 26 percent (5.4 trillion cubic feet) of the international gas trade in 2002. Countries that import LNG are: Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Greece, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States, including Puerto Rico.