# LNG chain

Gas chilled to minus 162 C to ship by sea, then warmed back into gas.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/

Transport · Liquid and gaseous fuels · No. 58

- Transport
- Form: Gaseous fuel
 Transport · Liquid and gaseous fuels · Foundation · Energy

Chilled to minus 162 C, natural gas shrinks about 600 times, small enough to cross oceans in insulated tankers.

Chart: Illustration: LNG chain

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Gas is cleaned, then refrigerant loops of propane, mixed refrigerants or nitrogen pull out heat until it condenses at about minus 162 C, shrinking about 600 times.

##### Three things to know

1. A carrier loses about 0.07-0.15% of its cargo a day to boil-off, and most of that is burned as ship fuel.
2. Import terminals ran at only 38.6% of capacity on average in 2024, much of it kept in reserve for security.
3. Hammerfest in Norway has liquefied gas using all-electric drives since 2007, avoiding on-site combustion.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Feed gas**Cleaned of CO2, water, sulphur, mercury
2. 2 **Liquefaction**Refrigerant loops chill it to minus 162 C
3. 3 **Storage**Insulated double-walled tanks at port
4. 4 **Carrier**Ships of 135,000 m³ or more
5. 5 **Regasification**Seawater or burners warm it into gas

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/correlation/index.md)
- [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/explain/index.md)
- [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/efficiency/index.md)
- [Technology advances](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/advances/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/valuechain/index.md)
- [Geopolitics and regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/geopolitics/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/economics/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/links/index.md)