The U.S. on Friday paused approvals of pending and future permits to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-Free Trade Agreement countries, the biggest buyers of the U.S. fuel, to allow the Department of Energy to review LNG climate impacts.
Environmentalists praised the move as long overdue. But the companies waiting for the U.S. to green light licenses to export LNG say it introduces uncertainty in customers view of U.S. supplies and could lead to use of dirtier fossil fuels.
Some remarks by affected parties:
LYLE HANNA, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH LNG:
“While Commonwealth LNG is disappointed in today’s U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announcement to pause permit reviews of pending LNG projects, we remain fully committed to developing our LNG export facility in Cameron, Louisiana.
“Today’s action by DOE seems especially punitive to Commonwealth, given that DOE has already had our permit application under review for an unprecedented period of four years from our initial application and 435 days since we received our Certificate of Authorization by unanimous vote of the Federal Energy Commission (FERC) under its expanded criteria for environmental review.”
COLLIN REES, PROGRAM MANAGER, OIL CHANGE INTERNATIONAL
“This is one of the most significant actions ever taken by a U.S. president to stop the dangerous expansion of fossil fuels and protect environmental justice. The momentum for a renewable energy future is undeniable.
“To make true on his climate and environmental justice commitments and strengthen our economy, our communities, and planet, Biden’s administration must move swiftly past this pause to deny federal permits for pending LNG export projects and other fossil fuel projects. Frontline communities, the climate, and his legacy deserve no less than a full and just phase-out of fossil fuels so all can thrive.”
BERNARDO FALLAS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, CHENIERE ENERGY
“Cheniere supports a clear, fair and robust permitting framework and believes any delay or disruption risks injecting uncertainty into the U.S. regulatory environment. Nonetheless, we are confident we will continue to secure all regulatory approvals for our expansion projects within our expected timelines, as we have for more than a decade under multiple administrations.”
“It bears reinforcing that we expect no impact from this pause on the overall timeliness of our (Midscale 8 & 9) expansion projects. As with any project, we will reach FID once we reach all of our investment and commercial parameters.”
KYM BUTLER, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER SEMPRA LNG, DEVELOPER OF PORT ARTHUR LNG:
“Sempra Infrastructure remains confident in the merits of its proposed projects, which include helping to displace more carbon intense fossil fuels such as coal and fuel oils and support national security goals through providing access to U.S. natural gas to our allies in Europe and Asia.
“Additionally, we continue to develop opportunities to reduce the carbon intensity of the LNG produced at our facilities. We are currently pursuing two carbon sequestration projects that are proximal to the Cameron LNG and Port Arthur LNG sites.”
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston Editing by Nick Zieminski)