Liquefied natural gas (abbreviation LNG for English liquefied natural gas) one calls liquefied natural gas by cooling. LNG has only about 1/600stel of the volume of natural gas in gas form. Particularly for transportation and storage purposes LNG has thus large advantages. Technically the natural gas loses thereby its characteristic of the line bindingness, i.e. that it can be transported on the road, the rail and on the water. Economically this kind of transport in the western world plays so far only a subordinated role, since about a quarter of the transported energy is needed for the cooling of the gas and over pipelines referred gas (still) is cheaper. At present (conditions: 2004) are accomplished about five per cent of the natural gas transportation world-wide in the form of liquefied natural gas.

Special meaning has this kind of transport however due to the geographical situation for Japan. Together with South Korea and Taiwan goes nearly 80 per cent of the global LNG exports into these asiatic economic powers, whereby Japan refers scarcely half of it.

In the course also in Europe the resort to liquefied natural gas is brought to the debate around supply security to the turn of the year 2005/2006 before the background of the Russian-Ukrainian dispute over the gas price to the diversification of the sources of supply and to the avoidance of one-sided dependence repeated in the discussion. For this reason the building of a LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven is examined at present, over which LNG from overseas can be imported. The most important export countries are in the Near East, in north and west Africa, why also further supplying way is to be manufactured via a LNG terminal in Omi"šalj, Croatia.

Related links

• Udo Lewalter, Liquefied Natural gas (LNG): With full power over the Weltmeere ("star", 7 February 2006)

See also: Natural gas vehicle, Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan pipeline, energy policy

Articles in category "Liquefied natural gas"

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