APGA expresses expediting exports concerns

The American Public Gas Association (APGA) has expressed concern to Chairman Landrieu of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Senator Udall – also a member of the committee – regarding the Natural Gas Export Promotion Act of 2014, introduced last week, which would speed up LNG exports.

In the letter of concern, APGA explained that the impacts of exporting US LNG were damaging to the domestic economy: “As every study on the issue has shown, exporting LNG increases the domestic price of natural gas. This means that whether you are a homeowner, small business, or large industrial enterprise, exporting LNG increases the prices you pay for not just energy but also the goods and services that have the cost of energy built into them.

The decision to give the US Department of Energy (DOE) 45 days to assess LNG export applications to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries would be equally counterproductive, the letter stressed: “The Natural Gas Export Promotion Act would only exacerbate this price impact by forcing the DOE to make a decision on whether or not an export application to a non-FTA country is in the public interest within 45 days,” the letter continued. “This arbitrary, compressed timeframe will not allow DOE to conduct a thorough public interest determination on whether the application will harm US consumers, the economy, or national security.”

APGA said that instead of exporting US premium fossil fuel, it believes Congress should pursue policies to enable the domestic use of natural gas and to export the country’s advanced production technologies that will allow countries with gas reserves to utilise their own resources effectively.

Adapted from press release by Ted Monroe

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/27062014/apga_expresses_concern_over_expediting_lng_exports_869/