LNG

Liquefied Natural Gas is highly versatile and serves remote locations and various industries

What is LNG?

Simply put, Liquefied Natural Gas is a colourless and odourless liquid fuel. But what LNG lacks in colour and smell, it makes up for in energy efficiency and environmental performance.

Created over millions of years from the transformation of organic materials, such as plankton and algae, LNG is made by cooling natural gas to -162°C, which means it is classed as a cryogenic liquid.

Applications

LNG is used in many business sectors within the industrial sector, road transport and marine.

Industry

LNG is often the fuel of choice for businesses in geographically remote locations. These typically include: food processing, bottling of beverages, pet food manufacture, dairy products manufacture, aggregates and asphalts.

Commercial

LNG is used widely within in the commercial sector. Especially owners of hotels and spas, have chosen LNG to heat their premises or provide hot water for their swimming pools.

Road transport

LNG is typically 10-25% cheaper than diesel, with strong environmental benefits that improve air quality in cities. LNG-powered trucks have comparable performance to diesel vehicles in terms of power, acceleration and cruising speed, but can cut CO2 by between 10% and 20%, dependent upon duty cycle and vehicle type.

Marine

With the growth of emission control areas (ECAs), LNG is also becoming an increasingly popular marine fuel. It is a proven energy source, which is affordable, performs well and offers 24% more energy output per tonne than heavy fuel oil. It is considered one of the most promising alternative fuels in the transition to clean transport in shipping.

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Why LNG?

Advantages

Liquefied Natural Gas is a highly versatile fuel. Clean-burning and low carbon, LNG is an effective, tried-and-tested alternative to expensive, oil-based systems for business concerned about costs and sustainability.

LNG is far simpler and more economical to produce than any other fossil fuel. Its price is more stable compared to other fuels, enabling businesses to forecast energy costs more accurately.

LNG is better than any other fossil fuel for the environment. The combustion of natural gas releases significantly less CO2, NOx and SO2 and virtually no ash or particulates. And as it evaporates rapidly when exposed to the air, it leaves no residue on water or soil. Find out more about LNG’s sustainability credentials here.

Methane gas, the main constituent of LNG, creates a flammability range of 5 to 15% by volume in air. This makes it extremely efficient, with an impressive 15.2 kWh/kg output and an even higher calorific value than propane. When used in power generation, combined heat and power (CHP) installations use more than 80% of the energy content in natural gas. This means natural gas plants are up to 60% more efficient than their coal-fired equivalents¹.

LNG can’t ignite when stored in its liquid form, making it ultra-safe. With safety of paramount importance, safety warning panels are fitted when the tank is installed, and gas detection monitors are placed on all equipment. A control panel continuously tracks what is going on in the plant.

With an estimated 7,177 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved reserves of gross natural gas worldwide² – enough to last for around 200 years at current consumption rates – and affordable methods for extracting unconventional gas in development, there will be abundant reserves of LNG for the foreseeable future.

The process of cooling natural gas into a liquid form shrinks the volume so that it takes up around 600 times less space than when in its gaseous form. And it weighs even less than water. This makes it easier and cheaper to transport and store.