Biden Administration releases LNG export study and urges caution on new permits

Tuesday, the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden released the long-awaited report on the economic impacts and environmental effects of exports of liquefied gas. The results highlighted the need to be cautious when issuing new permits.

Biden had in January halted the Department of Energy’s approvals of U.S. exports of LNG to large consumers in Asia and Europe, so that his government could conduct the review. This triggered complaints from the oil industry.

The study's findings were summarized by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a letter to reporters. Granholm wrote in a letter that the study found that increasing LNG exports could lead to a dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and also cause price increases for U.S. consumers of energy.

When he returns to his White House office on January 20, Donald Trump, the incoming president, who is a climate change skeptic but a strong supporter of fossil-fuel development, will end the moratorium immediately on new LNG export licenses.

The study

This information is intended to inform Energy Department's decisions about new permits to export gas. By law, the department must determine whether gas exports are in public interest.

Natural gas that is super-cooled into a liquid form can be transported in places where pipelines cannot reach.

A DOE official who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters, when asked if the study's results would provide legal grounds for LNG opponents to challenge new LNG permits in court. He said that this should be the first consideration of any U.S. Energy Secretary. The official also said that LNG opponents have many options in Congress and the courts to challenge new LNG export permits.

The report contains a number of scenarios based on the impact of LNG exports on climate policies, technologies, and resource availability at home and abroad.

(source: Reuters)