Reference
Frequently asked questions
326 questions across 7 topics, answered where each subject already lives — one flagship question per topic below, and the full set on each topic's own FAQ page.
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One question per topic. Each links to its full explainer for the rest of the picture.
- Why is natural gas turned into a liquid?
- Because gas is mostly empty space. Cooling methane to minus 162 degrees Celsius shrinks it about 600 times, which is what makes it economic to carry across an ocean in a ship rather than pushing it down a pipeline.
- What is an LNG train?
- One complete refrigeration line at a liquefaction plant, including its compressors, heat exchangers and drivers. A plant with six trains runs six of these lines in parallel, which is why capacity is added in discrete steps rather than smoothly.
- How big is a standard LNG carrier?
- The modern standard is 174,000 cubic metres of cargo, roughly 300 metres long. Older conventional ships are nearer 145,000, and the largest Q-Max vessels hold about 266,000.
- What are the stages inside an LNG import terminal?
- Unloading from the ship, storage in insulated tanks, pumping to intermediate then pipeline pressure, recondensing the boil-off, vaporising, metering and odorising, and injection into the grid.
- Why is LNG priced against oil rather than gas?
- Historically because there was no liquid, trusted gas price benchmark when the earliest long-term contracts were written, and LNG was competing directly against fuel oil in many markets, so pricing it as a function of oil made commercial sense at the time.
- Does LNG explode when it spills?
- Not as a chemical explosion. A spill can produce a rapid phase transition, a physical explosion from sudden vaporisation with no combustion, but ignition of the vapour cloud requires the right fuel-air mixture and a source, which is a separate and less immediate hazard.
- What is the difference between an owner and an operator?
- An owner holds an equity stake and a share of the asset's value. An operator runs the facility day to day and need not hold any ownership at all — the two roles are commonly split, and a large operator can have a small or zero equity stake.
Fundamentals
Liquefaction
Shipping
Regasification
Markets
Safety
Reading the data
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- LNG fundamentals
41 questions · fundamentals track
- Producing and liquefying
45 questions · liquefaction track
- Moving LNG by sea
105 questions · shipping track
- Receiving and regasifying
35 questions · regasification track
- Markets, contracts and pricing
40 questions · markets track
- Safety, regulation and environment
35 questions · safety track
- Reading the data
25 questions · reading the data track
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