New LNG plants win OK to hike exports
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has given Golden Pass LNG in Texas and Magnolia LNG in Louisiana authority to export additional natural gas once they begin operations.
The order comes as gas prices have skyrocketed globally amid growing demand caused by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has put future supplies from that region doubt.
“Additional LNG shipments to our allies overseas will help reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas while helping the U.S. meet economic, climate and geopolitical goals,” said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, a trade group representing independent oil and natural gas companies. “This is a significant step by the administration to support energy security for America and our allies.”
Under the Biden administration’s order, Golden Pass, which is being built in Sabine Pass by ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, can export an additional 35 million cubic feet per day on top of the 2.21 billion cubic feet per day it was already approved for.
Magnolia, being developed in Lake Charles by the Glenfarne Group, is approved to export an additional 150 million cubic feet per day on top of its original authorization for 1.08 billion cubic feet per day.
Golden Pass is scheduled to begin operation in 2024. Magnolia has yet to begin construction.
The move is the latest by the Biden administration to increase domestic oil and gas supplies, despite criticism from environmentalists that it’s doing so at the expense of long-term plans to reduce U.S. emissions to net zero.
But with fuel prices at the highest levels in years, driving consumer outrage both in the United States and abroad, Biden has authorized record releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and allowed the Interior Department to resume oil and gas leasing on federal lands.
“The additional permits granted today are an important step forward, and further progress could send a clear and powerful signal that America is serious about strengthening global energy security while supporting emissions reductions,” said Dustin Meyer, vice president of natural gas markets at the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents the entire oil and gas industry.