The Department of Energy announced Wednesday that it is authorizing liquefied natural gas facilities on the Gulf Coast to ship additional product across the globe in the face of constant pressure from Republicans to enable more fossil fuel production.
The department’s orders raised output thresholds on Texas-based Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi facilities, allowing the company to ship 0.72 billion cubic feet of LNG per day more than previously authorized.
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The order also enables all LNG exporters to ship gas to any country in the world, including those with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement.
“U.S. LNG remains an important component to global energy security, and DOE remains committed to finding ways to help our allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need while continuing to work to mitigate the impact of climate change,” the department said in its announcement.
The decision coincides with a veritable energy crisis in Europe, largely driven by months of high prices for natural gas and worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Europe currently receives a plurality of its gas supplies from Russia via pipelines, but officials have been working through how to change the dynamic and secure alternative energy sources in the face of the war.
President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have recognized LNG from friendly nations as a means of displacing Russian gas supplies, and Republican lawmakers in particular have been urging the Biden administration to speed up approvals for energy infrastructure projects to supply more gas to Europe.
For example, Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy, Mike Rounds, and Marco Rubio introduced legislation in February designed to speed up approval for gas export applications involving nations with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement.
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Meanwhile, Biden is also under pressure from environmentalist groups to restrict fossil fuel production as a means of mitigating climate change, and some Democrats have urged the Biden administration to restrict exports of LNG and other fuel commodities while Americans also face higher prices.
A group of 10 Democratic senators, most of whom serve New England states, asked Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in early February to limit LNG exports after gas prices spiked to $20.55 per million metric British thermal units for the region, although the administration did not acquiesce.
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