What is LNG?
History of Liquefied Natural Gas - The first evidence of LNG appeared in the US in 1914 when Godfrey Cabot submitted a patent for a barge to carry liquid gas. While no proof is available to confirm if this barge was ever built, the patent application proves that at the time the idea was technically possible. However, it wasn’t until around 1954 that commercial ship design for carrying gas really got underway with interest from British, American and French companies working on designs for carrying gas.
In 1961 Britain signed a 15-year contract to take less than 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from Algeria, commencing in 1965. The first liquefaction plant in the world was commissioned at Arzew in Algeria to supply this contact with gas production coming from huge gas reserves found in the Sahara.
Clean Energy: LNG is one of the cleanest burning forms of energy and it produces 50% fewer emissions than oil and 85% less than coal. LNG is a very pure form of natural gas and is not carcinogenic or toxic.
Environmentally Friendly: As a fuel, LNG is much cleaner than gasoline or diesel, reducing particle emission to near zero and carbon dioxide emissions by 70%. When burned for power generation, the results are even more dramatic – sulfur dioxide emissions are virtually eliminated and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 40%. LNG has the least environmental impact of all fossil fuels.
LNG Properties: Colourless, odourless and non-toxic, LNG vapour is lighter than air. It floats on water but vapourises immediately. It has a liquid to vapour expansion rate of 600 to 1.
BP LNG: BP produces more than 225 million cubic meters (8 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per day. One billion cubic feet is enough to supply 4.3 million homes per day.