U.S. LNG Imports Increase Sharply

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased 28.7% in 2004, according to a report issued in April 2005 by the Natural Gas Regulatory Program , part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy. The Department's fourth-quarter report on natural gas imports and exports states that LNG imports equaled about 3%of U.S. natural-gas consumption in 2004, with 71% of 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.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), there are now five LNG terminals operating 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 2, 2005, FERC has approved an additional eight LNG terminals in the United States, 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 in Canada, and five new terminals have been proposed in Mexico.
(Source: U.S. DOE, EERE Network News, 5/4/05)