Dust, acid gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons are a few of the contaminants that need to be removed before the liquefaction process can begin in order to avoid complications later. After cooling to around 162 °C (260 °F), the natural gas is condensed into a liquid at pressures close to atmospheric pressure (the maximum transport pressure is set at approximately 25 kPa/3.6 psi).

The smaller volume makes long-distance transport considerably more affordable where there are no pipes. In places where piping natural gas is not feasible or cost-effective, it can be transported using specially designed cryogenic sea vessels (LNG carriers) or cryogenic road tankers.

Compared to diesel, LNG has a 60% higher energy density.

The majority of natural gas is delivered to markets via LNG, where it is regasified and distributed via pipelines. Natural gas can be utilized in automobiles even though it is more common to build them to run on compressed natural gas. Due to its expensive cryogenic storage requirements and relatively high production costs, it has not been widely used in commercial applications.

LNG has a density that varies from 0.41 kg/L to 0.5 kg/L, depending on temperature, pressure, and composition, in contrast to water, which has a density of 1.0 kg/L.