The public comment period for the US DOE’s “2012 LNG Export Study” recently closed leaving the DOE with the task of reviewing thousands of initial comments and reply comments.
Under existing US law, the DOE must now decide whether approving additional LNG export projects is in the “public’s interest” based on the application of Policy Guidelines issued in 1984 as well as any other factors to the extent they are shown to be relevant to the public interest determination. These other factors might include the impact of exports on U.S. energy security, the impact of exports on the U.S. economy, consumers, industry, and jobs creation, the impact on the U.S. balance of trade, international and geopolitical considerations, environmental considerations, and consistency with DOE’s long-standing policy of promoting competition in the marketplace through free negotiation of trade agreements.
According to a Reply Comment (#168) submitted by Susan L. Sakmar, a Visiting Law Professor at the University of Houston School of Law and also the author of the forthcoming book, ENERGY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR LNG, the public is divided as to whether or not these factors favor LNG exports with three main positions emerging from a review of the initial comments submitted:
After reviewing the totality of the arguments raised in the comments, and after noting that just one project, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction project has received DOE approval to export LNG to non-FTA countries, while a number of other export projects have had their applications effectively on hold for years, Professor Sakmar offers the following recommendations to advance the export approval process while ensuring that the DOE fulfills its mandate to protect the “public’s interest”:
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, March 05, 2013