DOE Backs LNG Exports in Verdict on Biden-Era Study

The Department of Energy (DOE) said Monday it will proceed with issuing final orders on pending applications to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries with no free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

It has now prepared a response to comments on a Biden-era study reviewing permitting considerations and thereby “completed the final hurdles left over from the Biden administration’s reckless pause on LNG export permits, paving the way for the Trump Administration to fully unleash American LNG exports”, the DOE said in an online statement.

On January 21 Donald Trump, upon taking office in his second nonconsecutive term as U.S. president, binned his predecessor’s LNG export moratorium, imposed around the same time last year. The DOE under Biden had said the pause would give it time to review permitting considerations involving greenhouse gas emissions, environmental impact, energy prices and domestic gas supply.

While ending the pause, the DOE under Trump did not immediately invalidate the study by the Biden government on such considerations, published December 2024. In its January 21, 2025, statement the DOE said it was extending the deadline for the comment period for the results of that study to March 20, 2025.

“Based on the record evidence from the 2024 LNG Export Study and the public comments received, DOE makes several key findings, including: the United States has a robust natural gas supply that is sufficient to meet growing levels of exports while minimizing impacts to domestic prices; growing LNG exports increases our gross domestic product and expands jobs while improving our trade balance; and increasing U.S. LNG exports enhances domestic and international global security with no discernable impact to global greenhouse gas emissions”, the DOE said Monday.  

“In sum, DOE concludes that the complete record from the 2024 LNG Export Study, inclusive of the Study, the comments received, and this Response to Comments, supports the proposition that exports of LNG from the United States are in the best interest of the American public”.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright commented, “Today, the Department of Energy is following the facts, closing the door on the Biden administration’s failed policies, and putting America’s energy future on stronger footing”.

“The 2024 Study confirms what our nation always knew – LNG supports our economy, strengthens our allies, and enhances national security”, Wright added.

Wright’s predecessor, however, interpreted the results differently. In a statement issued for the release of the study, Jennifer M. Granholm said, “I want to take this opportunity to highlight five key findings and considerations that I think are especially relevant to help guide future Secretaries of Energy in making decisions about whether particular applications are in the public interest”.

“First, the pace of growth of U.S. natural gas exports in recent years is truly astounding and many analysts say continued growth on this trajectory will quickly outpace global demand”, the then-energy secretary said in the statement, now inaccessible on the DOE website.

“U.S. LNG exports have already tripled over the past five years, will double again by 2030, and could double yet again under existing authorizations”, Granholm said.

“Second, while these dramatically increasing LNG exports generate wealth for the owners of export facilities and create jobs across the natural gas supply chain, our public interest review requires a comprehensive economic analysis. The U.S. Department of Energy’s updated study finds that a wide range of domestic consumers of natural gas… would face higher prices from increased exports”, Granholm wrote.

Thirdly, Granholm said, “LNG facilities tend to be concentrated in communities that are being asked to shoulder the additional burden of pollution from increased natural gas production and liquefaction”.

“This comes on top of existing environmental burdens from refining, petrochemical, and other industries already concentrated near these communities”, Granholm added.

“Fourth, the climate impact of ever greater exports of LNG merits a close and rigorous focus, especially in a world that needs to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially across the board to meet our global commitment of limiting warming to 1.5 C”, Granholm said.

“Fifth, any sound and durable approach for considering additional authorizations should consider where those LNG exports are headed, and whether targeted guardrails may be utilized to protect the public interest”, Granholm said.

Responding to the DOE’s verdict on the study on Monday, Sierra Club Beyond Fossil Fuels policy director Mahyar Sorour said in an online statement, “This response from the Trump administration follows the closing of a public comment period in which the fossil fuel industry has attempted to re-write the critical, unbiased findings from the original report”.

Rigzone sent comment requests to the American Gas Association and the American Petroleum Institute.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com