U.S. Senator Wyden Raises Concerns About DOE LNG Export Study

U.S. Senator Wyden Raises Concerns about DOE LNG Export Study

Senator Ron Wyden, the incoming chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voiced concerns about a recent Department of Energy study on the impact of natural gas exports on the U.S. economy, in a letter to DOE sent Thursday.

The study, authored by NERA Economic Consulting for DOE, is seriously flawed, Wyden wrote. He is requesting the Department correct the flaws before using it as part of any LNG export decisions.

“The shortcomings of the NERA study are numerous and render this study insufficient for the Department to use in any export determination,” Wyden wrote, in a letter to Energy Secretary Steve Chu. “The NERA study would need to be updated with new EIA projections, more realistic market assumptions, regional impacts of the proposed actual export terminals, and evaluations of the actual impacts on consumers and businesses of exporting LNG.”

DOE is currently accepting public comments on the study, which is expected to be used in decisions to grant LNG export permits. As of January 4, there were 20 LNG export applications pending at DOE to countries without free trade agreements, totaling 22.6 billion cubic feet per day. DOE has already approved one application to export 2.2 Bcf/d to non-FTA nations.

Last year, Wyden asked DOE to explain the criteria it is using in making LNG export decisions, in a letter sent in October.

In light of the shortcomings in the NERA study, Wyden reiterated his request that DOE establish clear criteria for approving natural gas export applications. He has called for the Administration to ensure that the U.S. economy, including a resurgence of investment in manufacturing and other industries, is not harmed by large-scale natural gas exports. Wyden noted in his letter that even the NERA study concluded that large portions of the economy would be harmed by natural gas exports.

Dow Chemical has estimated there are 99 manufacturing and chemical facilities, totaling $80 billion in investment, in planning stages as a result of new supplies of reliable, low-cost natural gas in the North America.

[mappress]
LNG World News Staff, January 11, 2013; Image: wyden.senate.gov