Natural Gas Distribution

The United States has a vast natural gas distribution system, which can quickly and economically distribute natural gas to and from almost any location in the lower 48 states. Gas is distributed between and within states by 300,000 miles of transmission pipelines (see map). An additional 1.9 million miles of distribution pipes transport gas within utility service areas. The distribution system also includes thousands of delivery, receipt, and interconnection points; hundreds of storage facilities; and more than 50 points for exporting and importing natural gas.

Most natural gas fueling stations dispense compressed natural gas (CNG), which is either compressed on site or compressed off site and transported to the station in tanks. The availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG) stations is more limited. Most LNG users are fleets that have LNG infrastructure dedicated to their vehicles. Only a few large-scale liquefaction facilities provide LNG fuel for transportation nationwide.