Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been cooled until it becomes liquid, and it is stored in tanks. This reduces the volume about 600 times. For transportation between locations where other means of transportation (such as pipelines) is uneconomic, natural gas can be transported by ship as LNG. Natural gas - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A pipeline is a conduit made from pipes connected end-to-end, used mostly to transport fluids like water or petroleum over long distances. ...

The infrastructure needed for LNG transportation consists of a liquefaction terminal, where the gas is cooled, LNG-ships for transportation and a regasification terminal at the destination, where it will be reheated and turned into gas. The regasification terminals are usually connected with a distribution network of pipelines.

The costs of LNG treatment and transportation have fallen in recent years, making LNG a more competitive means of distribution. Receiving terminals exist in several countries, notably in Europe, Japan, Korea and North America, allowing gas import from other areas, in particular Africa, Australia, the Middle East and South East Asia. World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... Korea (occasionally spelled Corea) is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in northern East Asia, bordering on China to the west and Russia to the north. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

The risks of freighting gas as LNG are not clear, some claim that since the gas is cooled rather than compressed, spilled LNG would vaporize from its liquid form, then disperse or burn slowly if ignited, and not explode. There has been no serious accident involving LNG since long distance transportation started in the 1960s.

The East Ohio Natural Gas Company experienced a failure of an LNG tank in 1944. 128 people perished in the explosion and fire. Note: when the LNG vaporizes, it turns into natural gas. Natural gas, when combined with air in the right amount, is explosive. Generally, however, there is little risk to importing natural gas through LNG terminals and in recent years companies like Cheniere Energy were leading the way in constructing terminals in Texas and Louisiana to bring in LNG.