Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) said yesterday that "it wants to anchor a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey." If regulators approve the terminal, it would cost more than $1 billion to build, but it would be able to supply about 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, enough to meet the needs of more than 5 million residential consumers. This would ease the supply of natural gas to New Jersey and neighboring New York.Since the gas is cooled to liquid form, it can be shipped through tankers, rather than pipelines, thus allowing nations the use of more gas than is nearby. Exxon expects demand for gas in North America to rise above the ability of drillers to supply it. It also expects worldwide demand for LNG to more than triple to 500 million metric tons a year in 2030, 20% of which will be consumed in North America, meaning America would have to rely on imported gas. Hence the need for the terminal.



