LNG: HOW MUCH? HOW SOON? PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE

Gas industry leaders would like an import policy allowing 3-4 Tcf a year. A 3 Tcf level would amount to only about 3 percent of the total United States' energy requirements projected by 1985, and would represent only 12 to 15 percent of natural gas demand. Compare the present level of 45 to 50 percent which oil imports represent to total oil demand. On another level, for every 1 Tcf of gas not imported, the United States would probably have to increase its reliance on foreign oil by about 500,000 bbl. per day. The two terminals to receive the major LNG shipments from Algeria are the Cove Point, Maryland terminal constructed by Columbia Gas System and co-owned by Consolidated Natural Gas System and the Elba Island terminal near Savannah, Georgia, built for Southern Natural Gas. These two terminals and the proposed operating procedures are described. The ships to carry the LNG will each have a capacity of carrying the equivalent of 2.5 billion cu. ft. of natural gas. The vessels measure more than 925 ft. in length, 135 ft. in width, and have a draft of 36 feet. The design of the vessels is not uniform. On six of the carriers, the LNG will be contained in a membrane, or metal liner, supported by a thick insulating material that is in turn supported by the ship's hull.