Senators Reintroduce Bill to Expedite Certain LNG Exports
Five Republican senators this month reintroduced a bill they say would expedite government approvals for natural gas exports. The Small Scale LNG Access Act would require the Energy Department to grant export approvals “without modification or delay” for liquefied natural gas exports equal to or less than 51.1 billion cubic feet per year, the senators said. It would also ensure the exports aren’t sent to “bad actors,” including regimes in Cuba and Venezuela, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said.
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The senators, who also include Louisiana's Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy; Rick Scott of Florida; and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said the current export permitting process for LNG export facilities is too expensive. “Reducing the time and investment required for small-scale exports will benefit U.S. production, manufacturing, and construction jobs while also reducing trade deficits with the importing country,” the lawmakers said. “Increasing LNG exports, even on a small scale, will positively impact the economies of the United States as well as the economies of those receiving U.S. natural gas.”
Republican senators introduced a different bill earlier this year that would loosen restrictions on certain gas exports to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the U.S. (see 2103290044). That bill hasn’t yet received a committee vote.