Cooling natural gas to about -160°C at normal pressure results in the condensation of the gas into liquid form, known as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Liquefaction removes oxygen, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and water from the natural gas, resulting in LNG that is almost pure methane so that it can be transported easily and economically by ship (carrier) and by truck.

LNG takes up about 1/600 the volume of gaseous natural gas. While in the past LNG was relatively costly to produce, advances in technology are reducing the costs associated with the liquefaction and re-gasification of LNG.

Converting to LNG (rather than building costly pipelines) can make stranded natural gas deposits easy and economical to transport.