LNG Technology

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the liquid form of the natural gas people use in their homes for heating and cooking. Today there are more than 100 LNG production, transport and storage facilities across the country.

The storage tanks at Dominion Cove Point are built like huge thermos bottles to keep the gas liquefied. Technology for chilling and liquefying natural gas emerged in the 1920s. Engineers could liquefy natural gas by cooling it to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. Liquefying natural gas allows for much more efficient storage. In its liquid state, six hundred cubic feet of natural gas only takes up one cubic foot of space, making it economical to transport between continents in specially designed transport ships.

This LNG is then stored in insulated tanks, such as those at Dominion Cove Point, where it can then be re-gasified and distributed to customers by pipeline.

LNG provides a safe and efficient way of transporting natural gas over long distances, particularly from gas producing nations with insufficient pipeline infrastructures.

Dominion Cove Point stores LNG at about minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit at near atmospheric pressure in reinforced insulated tanks.

The tanks consist of a stainless steel inner tank surrounded by about four feet of insulation, which is contained by an outer steel tank.
 

LNG Safety

LNG is non-toxic, odorless, non-explosive and non-flammable in its liquid state. In fact, it will burn only after it has been re-gasified and mixed in the proper proportion with air. Natural gas burns only within the narrow range of a 5 to 15 percent gas-to-air mixture. Liquefied natural gas has about 45 percent the density of water, so if spilled onto a waterway, it will stay on top of the water until it evaporates into the atmosphere.

Since commercial LNG transport began in 1959, LNG has been safely transported, stored and delivered to densely populated cities in the United States, Europe and Japan. During that time, LNG transport ships have made more than 40,000 voyages, traveling more than 100 million miles and arriving safely without a significant accident or safety problem, either in port or on the high seas.

LNG carriers are fitted with sophisticated equipment to enhance safe navigation. The navigational safety features include anti-collision radar, automated information systems (AIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) that enable the crew to monitor the ship's position, traffic and other hazards.

LNG ships are well-built, robust vessels with a double-hull designed built to withstand the low-energy impacts common during harbor and docking operations. They are a common sight throughout much of the world.