Biden Administration Defends LNG Pause in Senate Hearing

The US government defended its decision to pause approvals of new LNG export facilities during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, not clarifying a timeline.

• “Given all these transformational changes, the DOE has the responsibility to assess additional proposed exports using the most complete, the most updated and the most robust analysis possible. In fact, I would find it irresponsible if we weren’t taking a step back and undertaking this rigorous analysis”, Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
• Turk declined repeated requests from Senators to provide a timeline for the reports but said it would be done in a very vigorous manner and as quick as possible.
• “We need to better understand the downstream climate impacts of more and more volumes of US LNG exports, especially over the long term,” Turk said.
• West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, the committee chair, said the administration’s move is unjustified and should be reversed immediately.
• Manchin added that the White House has sided with climate activists and that the decision has been politically motivated.
• Executive director of the Center for LNG – a trade group representing firms such as Cheniere and Sempra – testified that the decision has potential implications for more than a dozen proposals now awaiting review at the DOE.