DoE extends comment period on LNG study

The US Department of Energy (DoE) will extend the comment period on the federal study of the economic, environmental and national security impacts of new LNG export permits from February 18 to March 20, the agency announced on January 21.

The 560-page study, which paused US LNG permit approvals for new projects exporting to non-Free Trade Agreement countries, was announced in late January 2024 by then President Joe Biden.

The study concluded on December 17, with its findings released to the public. The study urged caution against new permits, finding that approving proposed projects would result in 1.5 gigatonnes of additional greenhouse gases (GHGs) entering the atmosphere by 2050.

It also warned that exporting more gas internationally would lead to a price rise for wholesale domestic natural gas by more than 30% as a result of less gas availability in the US.

The DoE stated that the extension will allow for “appropriate stakeholder input”.

While Trump had vowed throughout his campaign period to lift the ban on LNG export approvals as day one business, his key advisors have preached a message of patience in lifting the pause.

Trump’s advisors have expressed nervousness that attempting to move too quickly on lifting the ban would result in approvals being thrown out during the legal process.

Instead, they have advocated for the extension to the comment period, believing that pro-fossil fuel groups to debunk some of the key findings of the reports. This, in turn, would help insulate permit approvals from potential lawsuits later down the line, which would annul them.

In Trump’s first day back in the White House on January 20 he lifted the pause, instructing the DoE to restart the approval process for export permit applications.

Meanwhile, the DoE has ordered the office of fossil energy carbon management to recommence assessing pending LNG export permit applications.