No LNG Pipelines? Let the Trucks Roll In

[Marina Schwarz + 1,387]

"Wood Mackenzie estimates that China has the largest LNG trucking market in the world. As the economy comes to rely more on natural gas, trucked LNG can fill a gap for residential, commercial and industrial consumers outside pipeline coverage. The consultant group said trucking is a viable option as there is "not enough time nor is it economical to build or expand pipelines" to uncovered areas.

"The flexibility of LNG trucking alleviates China's lack of pipeline coverage, storage and regas capacity," Wood Mackenzie's report read."

I wonder what the trucks run on.

[DanilKa + 314]

Don't laugh it off, it is viable solution - called "virtual pipeline". Doesn't matter if trucks are running on diesel on natural gas (which would make sense; since they already moving it). Makes more sense if there is stable source of LNG, such as Qatar or Australia. Components for this scheme are already manufactured in China. Alternative is to transport diesel - which is also have to be imported.

[Tom Kirkman + 3,249]

2 hours ago, DanilKa said:

Don't laugh it off, it is viable solution - called "virtual pipeline". Doesn't matter if trucks are running on diesel on natural gas (which would make sense; since they already moving it). Makes more sense if there is stable source of LNG, such as Qatar or Australia. Components for this scheme are already manufactured in China. Alternative is to transport diesel - which is also have to be imported.

Very much true.  Small scale LNG plants and "virtual pipelines" of transporting LNG by trucking is a growing market for remote areas.

[sudhir + 9]

On 6/4/2018 at 6:08 PM, Marina Schwarz said:

"Wood Mackenzie estimates that China has the largest LNG trucking market in the world. As the economy comes to rely more on natural gas, trucked LNG can fill a gap for residential, commercial and industrial consumers outside pipeline coverage. The consultant group said trucking is a viable option as there is "not enough time nor is it economical to build or expand pipelines" to uncovered areas.

"The flexibility of LNG trucking alleviates China's lack of pipeline coverage, storage and regas capacity," Wood Mackenzie's report read."

I wonder what the trucks run on.

Given the capabilities of Chinese industries , sooner or later they would be installing new pipelines (as US did in Alaska and elsewhere)

[Marina Schwarz + 1,387]

They will likely have to, yes. Let's hope they start building them early enough to avoid supply outages.

[Bearb4u + 3]

LNG is not transported via pipelines, trucking is the only way to provide LNG to sporadic and sparse consumers in remote areas. In US and Canada, truck fleets are being converted to run on vaporized LNG. One would need to put a re-gasification unit next to the imported LNG terminal to transport natural gas via pipeline and distribute it to the end users. Pipelines are definitely more sustainable but costly to build and are justified only when there is large, continuous and long term demand exists.