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.