LNG rising [The Data]

Exporters have been shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the first specialty carrier-the MV Methane Princess-was built in 1964. But although LNG is twice as dense as compressed pipeline gas, the high costs of first cooling the gas to -162 °C to liquefy it for shipment and then regasifying it at the import terminal kept the market tiny for three decades. Then, in the late 1980s and 1990s, a confluence of factors opened the market up: Gas-fired power plants became popular, owners of oil fields became more interested in the extra income natural gas offered, and the terms of LNG trade contracts shifted from cumbersome 20-year arrangements to short-term sales agreements.