NGSA asks Congress to pass bills facilitating LNG exports

March 27, 2014
The Natural Gas Supply Association called on Congress to support legislation that would facilitate more LNG exports. “Exporting LNG overseas will have broad economic benefits by flowing money back into the US economy and creating American jobs,” NGSA Pres. Skip Horvath said.

The Natural Gas Supply Association called on Congress to support legislation that would facilitate more LNG exports. “Exporting LNG overseas will have broad economic benefits by flowing money back into the US economy and creating American jobs,” NGSA Pres. Skip Horvath said.

It specifically cited HR 6, which was the subject of a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee hearing on Mar. 24. The measure, which committee member Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) introduced on Mar. 6, would approve pending LNG export applications to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the US.

The bill and a similar measure in the Senate also would substitute World Trade Organization members for FTA countries, making more eligible for immediate approval. The US Department of Energy now has to review LNG export applications to non-FTA countries to determine if they are in the national interest.

“Beyond the well-known benefits to US markets, we have the opportunity to send a strong message to the global LNG market that can provide immediate reassurance to countries whose energy supplies are impacted by the current turmoil in Crimea,” Horvath said.

“Even though physical exports are not immediately available, removing some of the regulatory barriers would send a message to global markets that could accelerate competitive changes to the world gas market, to the benefit of customers,” he maintained.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].