What does the petroleum-industry abbreviation LNG stand for?

LNG stands for liquefied natural gas.

Natural gas is cooled to about −162 °C at atmospheric pressure to turn it into a liquid. In this form, its volume is roughly 600 times smaller than the same gas in its gaseous state, making long-distance transport by specialized ship practical.

LNG is usually produced at an export terminal, carried in insulated tanks, and warmed back into gas at an import or regasification terminal. Its main component is methane, although commercial LNG can contain small amounts of other hydrocarbons and nitrogen.

LNG is often confused with LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas. LPG mainly contains propane and butane and is liquefied under pressure, whereas LNG is primarily methane and requires extremely low temperatures. LNG is also different from compressed natural gas, which remains gaseous.