Grade: A.    Reason: ready

Most of the natural gas consumed in the United States is produced in the United States. Some is imported from Canada and shipped to the United States in pipelines. Natural gas is also being shipped to the United States as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Trinidad and Tobago provided 75% of our LNG imports in 2008.

Pie chart showing the sources of liquied natural gas (LNG) to the U.S. in 2008. Expressed in percentages: Trinidad & Tobago 75%; Egypt 16%; Norway 5%; Nigeria 3%; Qatar 1%

Did You Know?

Natural gas is transported on specially designed ships as liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is natural gas that is cooled to -260°F at which point the gas becomes a liquid. The volume of the liquid is 600 times smaller than the gaseous form.

In 2008, 90% of net imports of natural gas came by pipeline, primarily from Canada, and 10% came by liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers with gas from five different countries.

At the end of 2008, the United States had 58 locations where natural gas can be exported or imported.

  • 20 locations are for imports only
  • 16 locations are for exports only
  • 13 locations are for both imports and exports
  • 9 LNG terminals — 8 for LNG imports and 1 for LNG exports

Pipeline Imports of Natural Gas are Mostly from Canada

In 2008, net pipeline imports totaled 2,673 billion cubic feet, or 11.5% of total natural gas consumption.

In 2008, the United States received almost 99% of its pipeline-imported natural gas from Canada with the remainder from Mexico. Canada also accounted for 62% of pipeline natural gas exports, and Mexico, 38%.

Forty-eight natural gas pipelines, representing approximately 28 billion cubic feet per day of capacity, import and export natural gas between the United States and Canada or Mexico.

Imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Are Mostly from Trinidad and Tobago

In 2008, LNG imports totaled 352 billion cubic feet, or about 1.5% of total natural gas consumption, most from Trinidad and Tobago. In recent years, several African countries, including Egypt, Nigeria, and Algeria, also have been suppliers of LNG to the United States.

As of the end of 2008, the United States had seven LNG import terminals.

Most Natural Gas Exports Go to Mexico and Canada

The United States also has exported increased volumes of natural gas in recent years to its trading partners. In spite of a decline in pipeline exports to Mexico, overall U.S. pipeline exports in North America increased in 2008 to 956 billion cubic feet.