William Wood Prince was furious.

It was 1951, and his local natural gas supplier had just notified the Chicago businessman of yet another price increase.

Prince knew natural gas was dirt cheap down in Louisiana. If only there was a way to ship the volatile fuel up the Mississippi…

So he teamed up with the Continental Oil Company to explore the idea.

It wouldn’t be easy. Natural gas had to be cooled to -260°F before it turned into a liquid that could be shipped.

After running the numbers, Prince was dismayed to find that shipping gas to Chicago wouldn’t be worth it.

But, it could potentially lead to a lucrative new business…

Across the ocean, natural gas prices in Britain were sky high. After the Great Smog of 1952, the country had passed laws to clean up air pollution. And natural gas was the fuel of choice to replace dirty coal.

Shipping cheap gas from the Gulf Coast across the Atlantic could be profitable.

So, Prince and Continental Oil decided to convert the Nomarti – an old World War II era cargo ship – into the first liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) carrier.

Engineers had to line the hull with 12 inches of balsa wood – the only material at the time capable of holding the weight of the gas while keeping it cool.

The world’s first LNG carrier (Source: SIGTTO/GIIGNL)

The newly christened Methane Pioneer made its first shipment in 1959, bringing 5,000 cubic meters – about 7 swimming pools – of LNG to England.

Now almost 65 years later, over 500 billion cubic meters of LNG are shipped every year.

Here at Intelligent Income Daily, we’re focused on finding the safest income investments on the market. Natural gas is one of the most widely used fuels in the world. And with the right investments in natural gas infrastructure, you can lock in reliable profits.

Today I’ll show you why demand for natural gas is set to soar in the coming years. I’ll also give you one way to profit from the sector while collecting reliable high yields.

This Trend is Set to More Than Double

Like England in the late 1950s, China is on a natural gas shopping spree. After all its electricity shortages in recent years, China sees LNG as one way to ensure a steady supply of energy at reasonable prices.

One of the country’s largest private energy companies just signed a 20-year deal to buy gas from the U.S. And other state-owned energy companies are in discussions for more natural gas deals.

Over the past few years, Asia’s largest economy has been locking in long-term contracts for LNG shipments. China is set to become the world’s largest importer of LNG this year.

And according to the consulting company Rystad Energy, China’s LNG imports could double over the next decade.

India and European nations are also looking for LNG deals to avoid future energy shortages and reduce the use of coal.

That’s good news for America, the world’s biggest LNG exporter.

According to the Energy Information Administration, LNG exports are projected to increase by 150% over the next decade.

Now after reading this, you might think investing in LNG shipping companies would be a good idea.

But their earnings depend on commodity prices and shipping rates, which can change rapidly.

Instead, the better way to benefit from the growth of LNG is to invest in natural gas pipelines – as William Wood Prince discovered.

Midstream Limited Partnerships

Before any gas gets loaded onto a ship, it must first be transported from the oilfield to a refinery where it is processed and cooled into LNG.

That’s where pipeline companies, also known as midstream limited partnerships (MLPs), come in.

They transport the gas and receive a steady profit for every gallon they deliver – no matter what the price of natural gas is. That means they have reliable earnings that grow as demand for gas increases.

One quick way to add pipeline companies to your portfolio is through the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP). This ETF holds a basket of master MLPs that yield 8.7%.

With LNG demand set to more than double over the course of the next decade, now is a great time to take advantage of this opportunity.

But buying pipeline companies through an ETF has one drawback – their distributions are treated as tax-deferred return of capital.

If you want to make even more of a profit from this trend, there are specific MLP plays that provide more potential upside and higher yields over the long term.

We’ve included them as part of our Fortress Portfolio. It comprises companies that can help you withstand market volatility, recessions, record-high inflation, interest rate hikes, and accelerate your retirement goals.

You can find out the names of our favorite MLP recommendations here.

Either way, don’t be late to the game and miss out on the early innings of this LNG trend. As global demand grows, so do the profits up for grabs.

Happy SWAN (sleep well at night) investing,

Brad Thomas
Editor, Intelligent Income Daily