A Biden administration report on the environmental impacts of increased exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could add delays to President-elect Trump’s efforts to immediately authorize new licenses for the fuel, experts say.
Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, told lawmakers last week that the report, intended to measure the economic and environmental implications of increasing U.S. exports of the fuel, He would be released in mid-December. Under the Natural Gas Act, the DOE must evaluate whether exports are consistent with the public interest before issuing new permits.
While some experts dismissed the magnitude of the report, citing the fact that Trump can simply undo any restrictions Biden imposes on natural gas, others suggested it could prompt environmentalists to want to go after the Trump administration.
“Corporate sponsors don’t invest billions of dollars in fragile permits, period, period,” said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, an independent research and analysis firm that covers the natural gas sector. “The industry is right to expect support [from the Trump administration] but the documentation has to be airtight.”
HOUSE WILLING TO CHALLENGE GREEN STANDARDS FOR WASHING MACHINES WITH VOTE ON ‘LAUNDRY FREEDOM’ LAW
The US Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, DC (Getty)
Book noted that if the report is published and lays out reasons why new natural gas permits are not in the public interest, it would require the incoming Trump administration to present a different study, or a different interpretation of the study, in order to reach a place where you can clearly say “yes” to new natural gas permits. Book said that depending on what is shared in the Biden administration’s new study, that process could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, if not several quarters.
OTHERS JOIN HOUSE GOP PLAYBACK OVER PAUSE OF LNG EXPORTS: ‘Whole-GOVERNMENT ATTACK’ ON US ENERGY
“I am a strong supporter of LNG exports. Unfortunately, the report could slow the movement on new LNG export licenses because the Trump team will have to respond to the comments and because the report could provide material – even if it is unfounded – to those who claim that LNG exports have harmful consequences,” said Jeff Kupfer, president of the nonprofit ConservAmerica and former acting assistant secretary and chief operating officer of the DOE during the second George W. Bush administration.
A tank car before loading at the port of Elbehafen in Brunsbuettel, Germany, April 25, 2016. (Bodo Marks/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
While other energy sector experts agreed that the move could mean potential legal hurdles for the Trump administration and thus delay new natural gas licenses, they suggested there wasn’t much to worry about.
“It’s a last ditch effort,” said Trisha Curtis, CEO of PetroNerds and an economist at the American Energy Institute. “Could there be legal setbacks? Yes. Just like there were legal setbacks under the Biden administration, and then they fight those legal battles. But if you’re trying to hurry up and publish a study before the end of the year, and then if you have a period of comments, I’m not sure anything is really going to work, especially if your comment period is during the Trump administration.”
The Biden administration announced a “temporary pause” in issuing new natural gas export permits in January, which included a DOE review of the current environmental impact analysis the department uses to meet the requirements of the Natural Gas Act. . Under that measure, which passed nearly 75 years ago, the DOE must evaluate whether natural gas exports are consistent with the public interest before issuing new permits.
THE HOUSE DELIVERS A BLOW TO BIDEN’S CLIMATE AGENDA, VOTES AGAINST THE NATURAL GAS MORATORIUM
President Biden has repeatedly targeted the fossil fuel industry as part of his broad climate agenda. (Getty Images)
The requirement excludes countries with free trade agreements, but, according to Book, 80% of the liquefied natural gas market is countries that do not have free trade agreements with the US.
Trump has signaled that he wants to eliminate the natural gas pause immediately to boost domestic energy production. This is one of several actions he plans to take to eliminate the Biden administration’s climate regulations. On his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, he wrote: “Any person or company investing BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but not limited to, all environmental rights.” approvals GET READY TO ROCK!!!”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Families have suffered for the past four years from the war on American energy, which caused the worst inflation crisis in a generation,” Trump-Vance Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement promises he made during the election campaign, including reducing energy costs for consumers. When he takes office, President Trump will make energy America becomes dominant again, it will protect our energy jobs and reduce the cost of living for working families.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DOE for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
