Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the liquefied form of natural gas, which has a much smaller volume than natural gas in its gaseous form. This liquefied condition is used to facilitate the carriage of natural gas over long distances, often by sea, in specialized tanks.
LNG port terminals are purpose-built port terminals designed to accommodate large LNG carrier ships designed to load, carry and unload LNG. These LNG terminals are located adjacent to a gas liquefaction and storage plant (export), or to a gas regasification and storage plant (import), which are themselves connected to gas pipelines connected to on-shore or off-shore gas fields (export) or to storage and distribution plants (import).