Mar 17, 2022 - Energy & Climate

The Energy Department's delicate LNG position

Ben Geman

The Asia Vision LNG carrier ship docked at a terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas, on Feb. 22, 2016. Photo: Eric Kayne via Getty Images

The Energy Department's approval of wider LNG exports destinations from two Cheniere Energy facilities provided a window into the Biden administration's rather complicated relationship with the fuel.

Driving the news: The department Wednesday issued two long-term authorizations from Cheniere terminals in Louisiana and Texas to any countries that don't have free-trade deals with the U.S., including all of Europe, DOE said.

The announcement — which drew cheers from industry groups — noted the U.S. has already been increasing exports to Europe and said LNG is important to global energy security.
It also said that with exports rising, DOE is "particularly focused on driving down methane emissions in the oil and gas sector both domestically and abroad."

Our thought bubble: Communications about topics DOE is really jazzed about look ... different. They have quotes from Energy Secretary Granholm and others, and social media promotion that didn't occur with the announcement.

LNG is a tricky topic for the Biden administration as some environmentalists press officials to curtail fossil fuel exports.
But they always faced an uphill battle, and now Europe's push to end reliance on Russian gas is creating even more momentum for LNG.

Of note: The U.S. has recently become the world's top LNG exporter.

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The Energy Department's delicate LNG position

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