HOUSTON, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) — U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday that the United States should address liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports cautiously since at the recent “truly astounding” growth trajectory, U.S. LNG exports will quickly outpace global demand.
Unfettered exports of LNG would increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by over 30 percent, costing American households an additional 100 U.S. dollars per year by 2050, Granholm said in a statement accompanying a long-awaited study by the Department of Energy (DOE) on the environmental, economic, emissions and national security impacts of new U.S. LNG export authorizations.
“We have recently lived through the real-world ripple effects of increased energy prices domestically and globally since the (COVID-19) pandemic,” she said, noting that the gas price surge would make it harder for poor families to meet their basic needs.
The study found that increased LNG exports, even with the use of newly developed equipment to capture and store carbon emissions, could lead to higher global greenhouse gas emissions.
While some importers have used LNG to reduce reliance on coal, the DOE’s study purports to show that additional U.S. LNG exports would displace more renewables than coal globally, said analyst Chris Mathews from Hart Energy, a company that provides Petroleum industry information.
LNG demand has already peaked in Japan, and growth is expected to flatten in South Korea by 2030, while China is expected to drive most of the future LNG demand in Asia, Hart Energy said.
“Today’s publication reinforces that a business-as-usual approach (to LNG exports) is neither sustainable nor advisable,” Granholm said. “By itself, this rapid growth to date and the continued growth we expect under existing authorizations recommends a cautious approach going forward.”
However, she acknowledged that “decisions about the future of LNG export levels will necessarily be made by future administrations.”
The Energy Department planned the updated analysis in January when President Joe Biden formally paused approvals for new LNG export projects. The move was slammed by oil and gas players as unnecessary and counter-productive.
“The Biden administration’s pause on American LNG exports was a mistake that resulted in uncertainty for the market, for investors, and for America’s allies around the world,” Hart Energy quoted the American Gas Association’s President and CEO Karen Harbert as saying.
Tuesday’s report “is a clear and inexplicable attempt to justify their grave policy error. America’s allies are suffering from the weaponization of natural gas and energy deprivation and any limitations on supplying life essential energy is absolutely wrong-headed,” Harbert said.
“We look forward to working with the incoming administration to rectify the glaring issues with this study during the public comment period,” he further said.
During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the Biden administration’s LNG pause on his first day in office.