Editor’s Note: The following segment is one in a series by NGI’s LNG Insight focused on exploring how the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market works. The conversations in this series will also analyze news and the issues that matter most to the industry in North America and beyond.

Sam Thigpen founded Thigpen Solutions in 2005. The Conroe, TX-based company offers natural gas fueling services via virtual pipeline. Previously, Sam Thigpen worked as a cryogenic plant operator for PG&E Gas Transmission-Texas, a project manager for Hanover Measurement Services and Wedge Measurement & Control, and as a pipeline technician for Copano Energy, now part of Kinder Morgan Inc. He studied finance and international business at Sam Houston State University.

NGI: Where does Thigpen offer its services?

Thigpen: We work all over the country, from New York to California, and the Dakotas to south Texas.

NGI: Do you liquefy the natural gas you provide to end-users?

Thigpen: We don’t liquefy the gas. We purchase LNG from various small-scale liquefaction plants across the country and transport it to customer locations in our cryogenic transports. Once we get the LNG to site, we use portable vaporizers to convert it back to a gaseous state and deliver it into the end-user’s supply system.

NGI: How is the LNG you purchase priced?

Thigpen: We will have a regional index for the commodity and a cost associated with liquefaction. In a lot of applications, it’s cost-effective, but that doesn’t mean it’s economic in every instance. We understand LNG may not be the solution for every customer’s need, and we work to develop the right solution.

NGI: Can you offer a recent example of the services you provide?

Thigpen: A local utility had to take some natural gas pipeline out of service for maintenance. We were able to hook up downstream of their work area and continue feeding their natural gas end-users with LNG.

NGI: Does this sort of thing happen a lot?

Thigpen: Yes, it does. That’s a huge part of our business, typically from around March through October. Anytime a pipeline has integrity work or inspections going on, if they can’t bypass a particular section that needs to be repaired or replaced, they call us in to provide temporary natural gas. Our client will provide a tie-in point. We’re basically a bypass on wheels.

During the winter, there’s a lot less maintenance going on because of all the demand and pipelines are running at capacity. So, they try to do their integrity and maintenance work during the warmer months when they don’t have near the consumption demand on their pipeline system. During this time of year, we provide standby LNG and compressed natural gas services for supplemental gas supply in a peak demand event. This could be weather related or emergency related.

NGI: Is there more demand for these services in one part of the country or another?

Thigpen: There are pockets of needs in all areas of the country. We do a lot of work along the Gulf Coast, in what we call the southern region. For us, this region extends from Texas and Oklahoma all the way over to Georgia and Florida. That’s a big area for this type of work, primarily because there are so many more pipelines down here. We see a big portion of our work in the southern part of the country.

However, we do see a lot of inquiries up in the Northeast and western U.S. as well and have started to see even more inquiries there for these remote LNG solutions.

NGI: U.S. Energy Information Administration data suggests that small-scale LNG volumes are increasingly moving over the border into Mexico. Have you noticed a similar trend?

Thigpen: Our company does not move LNG by truck over the border. We are aware there has been a spike in LNG movement across the border. We’ve had companies reach out to us from Mexico asking us to provide LNG transportation into the country. We do know a lot of LNG is moving that way, and I think a lot of it is going toward mining applications and remote power.

Most of the time, we have received those inquiries from energy brokers. It seems that there are some brokers that work with Mexican business partners, and they are the representatives here in the United States.

NGI: Do you have any idea why cross-border LNG traffic has increased?

Thigpen: I don’t know for sure. As you say, the country is waiting for more pipelines to come online — that makes sense — but I don’t know if that’s the exact reason. I have heard that some of these end-users in Mexico have in the past used propane or diesel. So, LNG would be more cost-effective versus those commodities.

NGI: If demand for small-scale exports continues to grow in Mexico, would Thigpen consider offering its services there?

Thigpen: Yes, we would consider working in Mexico if we saw that there was a strong need for our portable, temporary solutions. We haven’t ventured across the border into Mexico but it would simply be an expansion of how we’re currently working. We’ve been focused on ramping-up our business here domestically. But if the opportunity presented itself, we would consider it.

NGI: Would you characterize the small-scale LNG sector as a growing segment of the U.S. natural gas industry?

Thigpen: I think there’s growth opportunities in both the use and production of LNG. We’re seeing growth in both. We see a lot of room for companies, utilities, manufacturers and other end-users to displace heavy fuel oils. Obviously, we don’t liquefy gas, we buy it and use it in our projects. But we do hear a lot about more small-scale liquefaction being built.