Next-gen LNG terminals shrink to offer flexible supply deals

Vancouver

THE liquefied natural gas market is growing every year, but the terminals that ship and receive the fuel are shrinking.

The booming sector's next-generation infrastructure is being designed for a emerging-market buyers that want smaller volumes on shorter, more flexible contracts.

LNG export terminals, where the gas is liquefied and put on vessels for shipping, have traditionally been massive, custom-built facilities that cost tens of billions of dollars. And so to justify the investment, they have typically required equally massive, long-term supply deals, often lasting a decade or more.

Numerous terminal projects on the horizon, by contrast, are new modular-style designs built to snap together like Legos, allowing for small…