Hawaii Gas has brought its first shipment of LNG to Hawaii, becoming the first company to bring the fuel into the state. Company will use limited quantities of LNG as a backup fuel for its synthetic natural gas (SNG) operations, increasing the reliability of its gas supply for its utility customers.

“We’re committed to lowering energy costs for Hawaii, and we see natural gas as playing a critical role in our state’s clean energy future,” said Alicia Moy, President & CEO. “Using LNG as a backup fuel is important to provide our customers continued reliability, but the sooner LNG can be brought to Hawaii in large quantities, the sooner our residents can benefit from this cleaner, cheaper, reliable and abundant fuel. As the state’s only regulated gas utility, and with more than 100 years of service and expertise, Hawaii Gas is committed to serving people and industries on all islands.”

The first shipment of LNG arrived on April 2 in a 40-foot International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container aboard a conventional container ship from the West Coast and was transported to Hawaii Gas’ Pier 38 gas operations facility. There, the LNG is being regasified using a mobile vaporization unit and injected into the SNG distribution pipeline, which serves residential and commercial gas utility customers. In its gaseous state, LNG is chemically similar to SNG.

Hawaii Gas received approval on March 6 from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission for its SNG backup fuel supply project. The company is also exploring small-scale containerized LNG delivery programs and the development of a large-scale bulk LNG program with Hawaiian Electric Company.