(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration granted its first approval for a project to export liquefied natural gas as the administration seeks to make good on a pledge to unleash a torrent of fuel shipments.
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The US Department of Energy conditionally approved a license for Commonwealth LNG to ship millions of tons of LNG a year from a planned facility near Cameron, Louisiana. It is the first LNG project approved under Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has vowed to “return to regular order” in granting licenses.
“Today marks one of many steps that DOE will be taking to assure our future as a reliable energy supplier to the world and resume regular order to our regulatory responsibilities over natural gas exports,” Wright said in a statement.
The Energy Department said it expects to issue a final approval for the Commonwealth project later this year. The department, which has authority in approving permits to export shipments of natural gas to European and Asian countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the US, has a backlog of a roughly a dozen major LNG projects that have been pending approval from the department, in some cases waiting years.
The Biden administration in January 2024 paused new permits for such projects to study the issue following vehement opposition from climate activists and others.
The study, released last month, found increased exports would raise natural gas prices for US consumers and increase global emissions, a move analysts said could make new approvals by the Trump administration more vulnerable to legal challenges from environmental groups.
Trump made good on a pledge to lift Biden’s pause on his first day in office, directing the department to consider the economic and employment benefits of approving new export permits, as well as the “impact to the security of allies and partners.”
Venture Global Inc., Energy Transfer LP and Cheniere Energy, Inc. are among LNG developers awaiting Energy Department approvals. Commonwealth LNG, majority owned by private equity firm Kimmeridge Energy Management LLC, has not yet made a final investment decision on its proposed facility.
–With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
(Adds a comment from the energy secretary in third graph.)
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