AEA Comments on FLEX II LNG Export Approval, USA

America’s Energy Advantage issued the following statement in response to The Department of Energy’s conditional approval of the FLEX II LNG Export Application.

Statement of Jennifer Diggins, Chair America’s Energy Advantage:

“The benefits of America’s newfound natural gas abundance to our economy – robust job creation, manufacturing investment, affordable consumer prices and lower utility bills – are in the public interest of all Americans, and the export volume of this valuable national resource should be considered in this light. The Department of Energy continues to rely on obsolete data and ill-defined standards to justify continued LNG exports.  Unchecked LNG exports will threaten America’s manufacturing renaissance, double or even triple prices for consumers, and negatively impact investment and job creation.

“Why is the Department of Energy moving so quickly to give away America’s natural gas to our global competitors when there are so many Americans still looking for good work here at home?  Why is the Department of Energy giving away this strategic commodity to countries that refuse to open their markets to other American made goods and services?  We should not reward protectionist behavior.

“Foreign and domestic companies are investing in new U.S. manufacturing because of America’s energy advantage.  With sound LNG policy, we import jobs. We renew our call for a full DOE review of the cumulative market impacts of its decisions to date before any additional approvals are granted.”

Respected independent energy market analysts predict natural gas demand to dramatically exceed DOE projections:

• In March of this year, Charles Rivers Associates warned that unchecked exports of U.S. natural gas could lead to a tripling of natural gas prices from current levels by 2030.  Their research went on to conclude that such an increase will have disastrous trickle down effects for the consumers, the manufacturing sector, employment and overall GDP.
• In September, ConocoPhillips projected domestic natural demand will exceed DOE’s projections by 30 percent in 2017 – just four years from today.
• Similarly, a September JP Morgan research note projects that natural gas prices will spike to $8.00 per million BTUs by 2016 — more than doubling its current price in three years.
• In January 2013, Purdue University found that whether LNG export levels are at 6Bcf/day or 12Bcf/day (NERA’s low and high scenarios), it will result in a decline in GDP and higher electricity prices for all Americans.  Put simply in their conclusion, foreign companies and consumers stand to gain while American companies and consumers lose.

[mappress]

Source: America’s Energy Advantage, November 20, 2013