Natural gas storage is vital for maintaining a balance between demand and supply. This is particularly true in certain regions of the country such as the Northeast and during certain times of the year (e.g., peak heating and cooling seasons). Without adequate and reliable storage capacity, natural gas consumers can experience unexpected high gas prices for short periods of time. As gas demand grows in this country, there will be increased pressure on existing storage capacity. Storing gas as LNG has advantages over conventional storage because more gas can be stored in a smaller volume. In fact, LNG reduces the original volume of the natural gas by a factor of more than 600.

The Liquefied Natural Gas Program is working with industry to develop an integrated system that will demonstrate the advantages of LNG to provide underutilized, relatively low-cost, natural gas to a wider distribution of natural gas customers. The ability to integrate existing natural gas wells with a mobile LNG satellite production, storage and distribution network is a technology solution that will enhance the availability of natural gas and improve utilization of sometimes stranded resources.
 

The "Bishop Process" - re-gasification of LNG directly from ocean tankers for storage in underground salt caverns

Another new process being developed by a consortium of industry partners and the Liquefied Natural Gas Program has the potential to revolutionize the gas industry. The Bishop Process entails receiving LNG directly from an offshore tanker, pressurizing it to 2000 psi and warming it to 40 °F with a novel, low-cost seawater heat exchanger. The natural gas can then be feed directly into the pipeline for distribution or injected into underground salt caverns for storage. This concept (including salt cavern storage) is currently being field tested and has the potential to provide LNG imports faster, cheaper, and more securely than conventional facilities.