Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Gas-To-Liquids (GTL) facilities are a critical component of today’s energy infrastructure. These facilities convert natural gas to liquid form for subsequent use by consumers in industry, commerce and residential areas.

Specifically, LNG is natural gas that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components (such as dust, helium, or impurities that could cause difficulty downstream, e.g. water, and heavy hydrocarbons) and then condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric pressure. LNG is transported in specially designed cryogenic sea vessels or cryogenic road tankers; and stored in specially designed tanks. LNG is about 1/614th the volume of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure, making it much more cost-efficient to transport over long distances where pipelines do not exist. Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, it can be transported by LNG vessels. The most important infrastructure needed for LNG production and transportation is an LNG plant consisting of one or more LNG trains, each of which is an independent unit for gas liquefaction. Other facilities needed are load-out terminals for loading the LNG onto vehicles, LNG vessels for transportation, and a receiving terminal at the destination for discharge and regasification, where the LNG is reheated and turned into gas. Regasification terminals are usually connected to a storage and pipeline distribution network to distribute natural gas to local distribution companies (LDCs) or Independent Power Plants (IPPs).

Gas-To-Liquids (GTL)

GTL is a technology that can help oil producers monetize stranded natural gas reserves that otherwise could not be brought to market. There are a variety of proprietary GTL technologies which can help oil producers develop both demonstration and commercially viable plants. GTL facilities may be built using modular or traditional "stick-built" construction methods, or a combination of both, depending on customer and project requirements.