skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Oceanborne transportation of liquefied natural gas, petroleum, and methanol fuels. Final report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5530198· OSTI ID:5530198

Because there is a strong demand for natural gas, and because domestic supplies are dwindling, there is considerable interest in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in special carriers (LNGC). The complex design of the LNGCs and the need to process the gas before and after shipment result in very high transportation costs for LNG. Typically LNG importers also have domestic sources of natural gas, and the high cost of the imported gas is averaged (rolled-in) with that of the domestic gas so that the resulting price is competitive with other fuels. The quantity of LNG imported will be limited less by economic and technical constraints than by government policies concerning energy imports and the siting of terminal facilities. Imported and domestic US petroleum movements were considered separately, since petroleum imports are carried primarily in foreign-flag ships and domestic movements must by law be carried in unsubsidized US-flag ships. There is currently an oversupply of foreign-flag tankers of over 60,000 deadweight tons; the existing fleet will be adequate to carry international movements of oil through 1985 barring any event which might greatly increase the distances over which oil must be transported. By 1990 however, new tankers of over 60,000 DWT will be needed to meet increased oil transportation requirements and to replace those which have been scrapped. New foreign-flag tankers of less than 60,000 DWT will be needed before 1985. World shipyard capacity should be adequate to supply the needed tankers. There is a shortage of large unsubsidized US-flag tankers for carrying Alaskan oil to Panama for transshipment by smaller tankers to the US Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The Maritime Administration has allowed subsidized US-flag tankers to participate temporarily in this trade.

Research Organization:
Manalytics, Inc., San Francisco, CA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5530198
Report Number(s):
EPRI-EA-1256
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English