Natural gas industry lobbyists ask feds to put LNG projects on fast track

Fuel Fix ^ | April 16, 2015 | Rhiannon Meyers

[thackney]

The U.S. should speed up its approval process for new liquefied gas export terminals if it wants to remain competitive against other countries eagerly preparing to supply the world with gas, a natural gas trade association argued Thursday.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance on Tuesday called on the federal government to revamp its lengthy and expensive permitting process for projects aimed at exporting supercooled gas to foreign markets, arguing that such exports are in the country’s national interest.

“The time is now for the U.S. to seize the day,” alliance President and CEO Marty Durbin said in a conference call with reporters.

The Department of Energy should issue blanket approval to all companies wanting to ship LNG to countries with which the U.S. does not have free trade agreements, rather than requiring each of those projects to undergo their own permitting process, Durbin said. The department should be able to make that change without congressional approval, alliance economist Erica Bowman said.

Projects would still need to get approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before they could start construction. That process alone can take up to two years and cost up to $100 million, which ensures that the projects receiving federal clearance are committed to moving forward, Durbin said.

After the shale boom unleashed a flood of cheap natural gas in the United States, companies scrambled to figure out ways to ship some of the abundant supply to overseas markets where it can command higher prices. More than 30 LNG export terminals have been proposed, although analysts doubt all will be built, particularly now that global oil prices have collapsed, making U.S. gas a less attractive commodity than it was a year ago.

Analysts have said that those best-positioned to cross the finish line are the ones already under construction, including Cheniere Energy’s $18 billion Sabine Pass LNG facility in Louisiana and Sempra Energy’s $6 billion Cameron LNG plant in Hackberry, La.

But the alliance argued Thursday that despite the weakening market, multi-billion dollar LNG export projects remain a”once-in-a-generation opportunity” thanks to the booming gas production that continues to give the U.S. a distinct competitive advantage over other countries, the alliance argued in a new report released Thursday. The alliance also rebuffed criticism that the U.S. doesn’t have enough gas to feed domestic demands and supply overseas markets.

The Potential Gas Committee recently said the U.S. contains recoverable gas that is 100 times the amount consumed last year, underscoring the nation’s ability to reap the benefits of exporting gas overseas while continuing to fuel its domestic manufacturing renaissance, the alliance argued in its newly released white paper.

“The U.S. can harness clean, abundant and affordable natural gas for both domestic consumption and exports to become a global energy leader,” the paper states. “This paradigm shift is driving economic growth, environmental improvements and enhanced energy security.”

Falling oil prices may weed out some projects, but overseas buyers are still interested in U.S. gas, and projects will survive as they sign new contracts that extend 20 to 30 years, Durbin said.

“This is an opportunity across the board for the U.S. to pay a much clearer role with our allies and just the global markets in general,” he said. “I don’t think the current prices are having a major impact on that long-term opportunity we have.”

[1010RD]

The headline tells you all you need to know about what’s wrong with our economy - “ask feds”. Why would we want to burden the engine of our economy with a bureaucrats permission?