Energy Workforce & Technology Council issued the response below following statements by the Biden Administration announcing the review of criteria used to approve new LNG export projects.
“Any potential move by the Administration to create new hurdles to permitting LNG projects is counterproductive and could send the industry into disarray. The last thing that natural gas needs is more regulatory uncertainty. Already, the industry is forced to play a ‘will they, won’t they’ game with stalled permitting reform. This proposal only exacerbates the problem by stalling new projects and halting an industry that is fueling not only our homes this winter but also those of our friends and allies abroad.”
Energy Workforce President Tim Tarpley
“The U.S. natural gas industry produces gas more efficiently and with lower emissions than anywhere else in the world and is in need of additional investment to keep up with projected demand,” he said. “Converting coal-fired power generation in the U.S. to natural gas has resulted in the U.S. lowering our carbon emissions more than nearly any other country in the world since 2005. These actions from the Administration only discourage investors who are drawn off by regulatory uncertainty.
“From an international perspective, Europe has already determined that natural gas is a “green” form of energy, so why wouldn’t the U.S. follow suit? We are economically handicapping ourselves to increase red tape on a resource that the world wants and desperately needs. Uncertainty created by this statement will encourage our allies to look for LNG from the Middle East, Australia and South America, who will be more than happy to fill the void we leave. Further, this uncertainty threatens our national security and that of our allies. With Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine and increasing instability in the Middle East, our allies are in dire need of a reliable and dependable source of energy.”
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