August 7, the Department of Energy gave approval to American LNG Marketing LLC to export domestic LNG to nations that do not have Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the U.S. American LNG is cleared to export up to of 0.008 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas from Hialeah, Florida’s liquefaction facility for the next 20 years. According to American LNG, the Caribbean and Central American will be the most likely recipients of its cargo.
August 4, Texas state and federal officials called for the introduction of measures that would pave the way to increased exports of liquefied natural gas and an end to the federal ban on exports of crude. “Increasing LNG exports would give the US a major geopolitical advantage,” David Porter, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, told a legislative and regulatory forum in Houston. Rep. Joe Barton agreed with Porter on the need to speed up the permitting process for LNG terminals. Barton noted that the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have already granted all the licenses and approvals required to build seven LNG export facilities in the US.
