US Review of LNG Exports Could Last Until Early 2025, Official Says
The Biden administration expects by the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2025 to finish reviewing criteria for approving liquefied natural gas (LNG) export applications, an Energy Department official said last week.
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“We are working as quickly as we can to complete this work in a conscientious and defensible manner, and are planning for a 60-day comment period,” Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary for the department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, testified before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs.
Crabtree reiterated the administration’s view that the pause, announced in January (see 2401260070), is needed to address several factors, including how the recent rapid growth in LNG exports will affect climate change (see 2402090005). Subcommittee Republicans repeated their concern that the pause has created uncertainty about whether American allies can count on the U.S. for LNG in order to eliminate their reliance on Russian natural gas.
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, the subcommittee chairman, said the pause has also caused alarm in U.S. states that produce and export LNG. A group of 16 state attorneys general has sued the administration, claiming the pause is illegal, and the Texas House of Representatives has formed a special committee to examine the impact of the pause on the state.