Let's not beat around the bush: Exporting more LNG has become as hot of a US political issue as the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline's cross-border permit application. It's not certain whether all this attention will produce concrete results, but it is providing some good election year entertainment this spring, especially in Colorado.
The US House Energy and Commerce Committee's Energy and Power Subcommittee approved HR 6 on May 2 by 33 to 18 votes. The measure sponsored by Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican who represents Colorado's fourth district, aims to clear a backlog of LNG export applications at the US Department of Energy.
"The majority of LNG export applications are waiting in a long line," Gardner said following the vote. "We must break the logjam that is currently taking place at DOE, and move toward construction of these LNG export facilities."
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who chairs the full committee, added, "We have the opportunity to strengthen our economy by exporting our surplus of natural gas to our allies who need it. The current Ukraine crisis further puts the spotlight on a policy that already makes good sense both here and abroad."
Meanwhile, US Sen. Mark Udall (Colo.) and four other Senate Democrats sent US President Barack Obama a letter the same day. They urged DOE to move more quickly by giving national security considerations more weight, "given the crisis in eastern Europe," among other recommendations.
November election
Both federal lawmakers from Colorado emphasize strong bipartisan support in Congress for more US LNG exports, and the need for applicants to also secure approvals from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other government agencies. But Gardner is running to unseat Udall in November.
Administration officials have questioned whether the pace of US LNG export application approvals would affect the current Russian-Ukrainian confrontation. Six projects still have to satisfy FERC and National Environmental Policy Act requirements, said Sec. of Energy Ernest J. Moniz at the US Energy Association's annual meeting on Apr. 23. "It's going to be years before much of this gas actually is exported," he added.
Other Washington energy observers are equally skeptical. "There has not been as much stupidity coming out of Congress in recent weeks as the idea that US gas could help Turkey and Europe when private companies control the final decisions," Charles K. Ebinger, who directs the Brookings Institution's Energy Security Initiative, said at an Apr. 28 seminar on Turkey's regional energy future.
Gardner, Udall, and their campaign staffs might disagree. Meanwhile, US gas producers and others who support LNG exports are delighted the matter is getting such favorable attention, even if it's purely political.