DOE: Liquefied Natural Gas Imports Increased 29 Percent in 2004

May 4, 2005

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased 28.7 percent in 2004, according to a report issued in mid-April by the Natural Gas Regulatory Program, part of the DOE Office of Fossil Energy. DOE's fourth quarter report on natural gas imports and exports says that LNG imports equaled about 3 percent of U.S. natural gas consumption in 2004, with 71 percent of the imports coming from Trinidad. Maryland's Cove Point receiving terminal, which reopened in late August 2003, became the most active LNG receiving terminal in 2004. See the 2004 fourth quarter report (PDF 413 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), there are now five operating LNG terminals in the United States, the latest consisting of a submerged buoy in the Gulf of Mexico that is connected to an undersea natural gas pipeline. As of May 2nd, FERC has approved an additional eight U.S. LNG terminals, and the U.S. Coast Guard has approved two. Another 23 terminals have been proposed to either FERC or the Coast Guard, and 10 potential sites have been identified by developers. Meanwhile, seven new terminals have been proposed for Canada, and five new terminals have been proposed for Mexico. See the FERC list and map of "Existing, Proposed and Potential North American LNG Terminals" (PDF 160 KB).