Center for Liquefied Natural Gas

03/20/2017

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) sent three letters to policymakers this afternoon; one to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, another to the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and a third to Secretary Rick Perry at the Department of Energy (DoE). These letters emphasize the importance of domestic liquefied natural gas exports, calling on Congress and Sec. Perry to support LNG development by establishing a clear and efficient regulatory path for U.S. LNG exports.

sent three letters to policymakers this afternoon; one to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, another to the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and a third to Secretary Rick Perry at the Depar...

01/05/2017

In response to the publication of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2017, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl issued the following statement:

“As with previous years, EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook makes a compelling case in favor of continued and expanded U.S. LNG exports. The projections in this year’s report show that domestic production in the United States will continue to provide more than enough natural gas to meet domestic demand, while also supplying our trading partners around the world.

“The latest Outlook offers yet another reason why the U.S. Department of Energy should implement a process that ensures export permits are issued in a timely fashion, strengthening America’s position in the global energy market at a time when international competition is growing quickly.”

In response to the publication of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2017, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl issued the following statement: “As with previous years, EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook makes a compelling cas...

11/15/2016

LNG provision to provide critical boost to development of domestic industry

Earlier this morning, the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Natural Resources, reiterating the organization’s support for quickly moving forward with a conference agreement on the energy bill.

The proposed bill includes a critical provision to codify the timeline for the Department of Energy to review LNG permits to non-free trade agreement countries. Having received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, the measure is widely viewed as a key component to building consensus around the main bill.

CLNG’s members see the legislation as a crucial milestone in establishing a thriving and internationally competitive LNG industry in the United States. As the letter notes:

“While LNG export terminals take years to develop and build, many planned facilities have already advanced detailed engineering plans and started negotiations toward long-term sales agreements with international consumers. These agreements are essential for project developers to secure the financing they need to construct LNG terminals. It is extremely difficult for projects to make final investment decisions and arrange funding until the DOE approves a project’s export application. The LNG industry is ready to create jobs and help supply global demand for natural gas, but it needs regulatory certainty and a clear timeline for action on exports applications from DOE to do so.”

Commenting, Charlie Riedl, CLNG’s Executive Director, said:

“The key point we want to stress today is the urgency of the issue. Global demand for LNG is increasingly being met by our international competitors, so every day we delay is a day lost for our industry. Quickly passing the current energy bill will be a huge boost to the American economy, giving companies awaiting an export permit greater regulatory certainty and a clear timetable for moving forward with capital intensive projects.

“As the letter notes, the legislation will provide an immediate solution to one of the most pressing issues facing our industry. Our leaders in Congress should be commended for their huge achievement in progressing the legislation over the course of several years. Having come this far, we now hope that Congress will be able to quickly pass the bill into law.”

LNG provision to provide critical boost to development of domestic industry Earlier this morning, the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the…

11/08/2016

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) and the Center for LNG released the following statement in advance of today’s election results. Dena Wiggins, president and CEO of NGSA, said:

“Natural gas is a non-partisan fuel and, whether used to heat homes and businesses, to generate electricity, to manufacture goods, for transportation, or exported as LNG, its use benefits consumers, the economy and the environment. These are issues that concern and unite all our citizens. No matter which candidates win today’s presidential and congressional elections, we look forward to working with them in the next Administration and Congress to support a broad non-partisan energy policy that includes a critical role for natural gas.”

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) and the Center for LNG released the following statement in advance of today’s election results. Dena Wiggins, president and CEO of NGSA, said: “Natural gas is a non-partisan fuel and, whether used to heat homes and businesses, to generate electricity, to ma...

11/04/2016

Earlier this morning the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a legal challenge by the Sierra Club against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) review of the Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. The court opted to dispense with the case without taking oral arguments and instead issued a short judgement noting that the challenges do not warrant a published opinion.

In response, Charlie Riedl, Executive Director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG), issued the following statement:

“We are pleased, if not surprised, that the D.C. Circuit Court has upheld the review process. Following a similar rejection of a challenge by the Sierra Club against Sabine Pass, this is the second time in recent months that it has sustained FERC’s process and is an indication of the robust review process that the Commission puts every proposed LNG facility through.

“Natural gas can help deliver meaningful decreases in greenhouse gas emissions. Just last week the Energy Information Administration noted that domestic carbon dioxide emissions fell to a 25-year low during the first six months of 2016 in large part because of the transition from coal to natural gas. Exporting LNG can help deliver these same reductions to other countries around the world.”

Earlier this morning the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a legal challenge by the Sierra Club against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) review of the Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. The court opted to dispense with the case without taking oral argume...

08/02/2016

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality released its final guidance for federal agencies on incorporating the effects of climate change in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews.

Commenting, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl said,

“As CLNG warned in comments filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this year, this guidance not only fails to serve NEPA’s goals and purposes, but it also creates yet another arbitrary hurdle for the industry, which is already forced to navigate an unpredictable and inconsistent regulatory approval process.

“The guidance issued today creates greater regulatory uncertainty that will hold the American LNG industry back at a time when it faces fierce competition from LNG projects in other countries that are rapidly coming online.

“In the interest of lowering global greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. government should support American LNG exports. There is considerable evidence demonstrating that natural gas is poised to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions significantly. A lifecycle analysis report conducted by Pace Global found that if key international markets used U.S. LNG to generate electricity instead of coal, their greenhouse gas emissions would be 92 to 194 percent lower. American LNG has an important role to play in the ongoing discussion about reducing global emissions and being a supplier of this strategic fuel is an opportunity that the U.S. should embrace.”

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality released its final guidance for federal agencies on incorporating the effects of climate change in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. Commenting, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl said...

07/12/2016

CLNG Cheers Forthcoming Reconciliation of Energy Bills

This afternoon the Senate voted to appoint seven members to a conference committee with the House of Representatives to reconcile corresponding energy bills. Senate conferees are Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Risch (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (D-VT). The Senate and House energy bills each contain a provision that would expedite the regulatory approval process for LNG export applications.

Commenting, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl said,

“Now that the House and Senate have both voted to move forward with the conference process I urge members of the conference committee to ensure that the final bill contains provisions that expedite the review of LNG export applications. Both chambers have previously passed legislation with bipartisan support that would establish a defined window of time for the Department of Energy (DOE) to act on export applications to non-free trade agreement countries once National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review is complete. This key provision helps establish regulatory certainty that is critical for project developers that are planning business activity and construction projects which will create jobs, invest billions of dollars in the US economy and help stabilize world energy markets. This is exactly the kind of win-win issue that members from both sides of the aisle can get behind, and it should be included in the final bill.”

This afternoon the Senate voted to appoint seven members to a conference committee with the House of Representatives to reconcile corresponding energy bills. Senate conferees are Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Risch (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyd...

04/27/2016

CLNG Hails House Action Providing Greater Regulatory Certainty for Exports

During the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act earlier today, the House Armed Services Committee voted to include language that will facilitate the shipment of U.S. LNG to Europe and other markets around the world. The amendment will require the Department of Energy to issue a decision on export applications no more than 30 days after the conclusion of the National Environmental Policy Act review.

Commenting, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) Executive Director Charlie Riedl said,

“Allowing countries in Europe and elsewhere to diversify their natural gas supply through U.S. LNG has been widely recognized as a crucial means of enhancing global energy security. This legislation will deliver meaningful progress towards that important goal by giving developers sufficient certainty in the regulatory process to move ahead with their projects with confidence.

“Exporting our surplus natural gas overseas will not only benefit our allies abroad, it will also drive significant investment into the domestic economy while making sizeable reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. The shale revolution has fundamentally transformed the American energy landscape; LNG exports now represent an opportunity to allow the rest of the world to benefit.”

04/20/2016

CLNG Cheers Passage of S. 2012 on a 85-12 vote:

Among other issues, the bill brings greater regulatory certainty to the United States’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry by requiring that the Department of Energy (DOE) issue a permitting decision within 45 days of an export project’s completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.

CLNG Executive Director Charlie Riedl:

“After CLNG first initiated the call for legislation in the last Congress, today’s vote represents a watershed moment for the United States’ liquefied natural gas industry. The crucial point about this legislation, and indeed the bill that passed the House last year, is that it will provide the industry with confidence in the regulatory process. Project developers should know that they have a rock-solid timeframe to work with, and that certainty is crucial for these large, complex, capital-intensive investments in the U.S. economy. This legislation will help catalyze the fast-maturing domestic LNG industry.

As the leading industry voice on this issue, CLNG thanks allies and bipartisan leadership in the Senate, especially Senators Lisa Murkowski and Maria Cantwell, for their efforts. Today’s vote is a big step forward, and we hope LNG exports will continue to receive bipartisan support as it advances in the legislative process.”

03/04/2016

New post from the U.S. Energy Information Administration explaining the significance of the historic shipment last month:

"The first export shipment of liquefied natural gas produced in the Lower 48 states on February 24 is a milestone reflecting a decade of natural gas production growth that has put the United States in a new position in worldwide energy trade."

Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government

02/25/2016

CLNG: First LNG Cargo a Momentous Occasion for Global Gas Industry

After Cheniere announced that it had shipped its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, Charlie Riedl, Executive Director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG), issued the following statement:

“This is a momentous day – not just for our domestic industry, but for the global gas industry as a whole. Sabine Pass, the first of its kind export facility in the continental U.S., represents a fast-emerging industry. With a further 10 bcf/d of American LNG already permitted, we will quickly become a major player in the global market.

“The proven natural gas reserves in the United States confirm that LNG exports will bring significant benefits for the domestic economy. As more LNG comes on stream, those benefits will increase exponentially, in terms of job creation, investment and supply contracts across the whole natural gas supply chain.”

02/23/2016

With the first shipment from the continental US nearing, CLNG's Charlie Riedl explains in The Hill why now is the time for Congress to capitalize on America's natural gas abundance and expedite exports with .

"Exporting LNG is a golden and unique opportunity, but it is one that we must grasp quickly if we are to take full advantage of the manifest economic, environmental and geopolitical benefits it offers."

A historic milestone in America’s energy history is imminent; the U.S’s first export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).