Welcome to AXI LNGAS Inc.

Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG is essentially natural gas that has been liquefied by an industry-proven process of cooling it to negative 161 Celsius ("C"), significantly reducing the volume (to 1/600 of original volume) for transportation. This is similar to reducing the volume of a large beach ball of air to that of a ping-pong ball of liquid. 

Leading exporters of LNG include Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Malaysia, Trinidad Tobago, Egypt, Australia, Russia and now the USA.

There is a significant demand for natural gas in the Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea and China, and it is expected to expand greatly, led by China demand growth.  Currently, the global LNG trade is around 373 million tons (~18 tcf or ~50 bcfd) with over 73% of the volume being transacted and delivered in Asia. Japan and China take around 80 million tons  each (~ 42 % of the global demand) for its domestic consumption, mainly for power and utility heating. For over 40 years, LNG has been bought and sold around the globe and represents around 15% of the global consumption of natural gas. It is the major source of natural gas in countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

In Asia, the trend away from coal is accelerating and demand for clean burning gas has never been stronger. These long-term trends create opportunities for stable sources of natural gas supply to take advantage of high demand in the Pacific Rim markets. 

The current global fleet of LNG carriers is 700 units, with another 196 vessels in order by the end of 2021, mainly in the shipyards of China, Japan and South Korea. LNG tankers are double-hulled ships specially designed and insulated to prevent leakage or rupture in an accident. The LNG is stored in a special containment system within the inner hull where it is kept at atmospheric pressure and -161°C. 

Three types of cargo containment systems have evolved as modern standards. These are the: 

• spherical (Moss) design
• membrane design
• structural prismatic design.

Most of the older LNG ships use spherical (Moss) tanks, and they are easily identifiable as LNG ships because the top halves of the spherical tanks are visible above the deck.  The majority now (517 units) use the membrane type of containment. The typical LNG carrier can transport about 90,000–160,000 cubic meters of LNG, which will provide about 54–96 million cubic meters of natural gas. The typical carrier measures some 275 meters in length, about 43 meters in width and 11 meters in water draft.

• The final stage of the LNG value chain, excluding the connecting pipelines between stages, is the receiving or regasification terminal which can be land based or recently, via a flexible floating or offshore solution. 

• Regasification converts the LNG stored in specially-made “cryogenic” storage tanks from its liquid state (-161 C) to a gaseous state by pumping it at high pressure through various terminal components, where it is warmed by passing it through pipes heated by direct-fired heater (closed loop system), seawater (open loop) or through pipes that are in heated water. 

• The vaporized gas is then pressure regulated and enters a pipeline system as “natural” gas, where it ceases to be an “LNG” and is indistinguishable from conventional “piped” natural gas.  The piped natural gas is then finally use by the residential, commercial and industrial customers of the importing country. 

From an environmental perspective, natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and significantly reduces particulate and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30–60% in comparison with heavier hydrocarbon fuels.  LNG is colourless, odourless, non-toxic and does not linger in the environment. When spilled on water or land, LNG does not mix with water or soil or leave a residue; it disperses rapidly in the air.

Risks and potential hazards are well understood by industry, and safeguards and mitigation measures are firmly entrenched. The LNG industry has a proven safety record with 40+ years of shipping LNG across the world with no major incidents.

Security measures for land-based LNG facilities include security patrols, protective enclosures, lighting and monitoring equipment. Safety and security zones around land-based facilities and ships are also common in some parts of the world.  Because LNG is refrigerated, not pressurized, a crack or puncture in an LNG container will not create an explosion. There has never been a recorded incident of a puncture of a full containment storage tank, such as the one planned for the Philippine FSRU LNG terminal.