Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday approved a liquefied natural gas export permit extension for Golden Pass LNG, a project owned by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil and currently under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas.
• It is the third LNG-related authorization by DOE since President Trump took office, reversing a Biden administration “pause” on export approvals.
• Trump has said he wants the U.S. to achieve “energy dominance” and fossil fuel exports are a part of that strategy. Consumer and environmental advocates, however, warn that unrestricted gas exports could raise domestic gas prices by more than 30%, send electricity prices higher and stymie efforts to reduce emissions.

Dive Insight:

Golden Pass is expected to begin exporting LNG by the end of this year, making it the ninth large-scale export terminal operating in the United States, DOE said.

Exporting natural gas “supports American jobs, bolsters our national security and strengthens America’s position as a world energy leader,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement.

DOE’s decision follows two February actions: the agency approved an export approval for Commonwealth LNG, and issued an order on rehearing that removed barriers for the use of LNG as “bunkering” fuel used by the ships transporting it.

“Golden Pass was the first project approved for exports to non-free trade agreement countries by DOE during the first Trump Administration, and it is gratifying that this project is so close to being able to deliver its first LNG,” Tala Goudarzi, acting principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, said in a statement.

In December, DOE published a study concluding increased exports would contribute to higher electricity and natural gas prices for U.S. consumers, as well as increased greenhouse gas emissions and other costs. Then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned that U.S. LNG exports have tripled over the past five years, will double again by 2030 and could further expand.

“The quantities already approved for export equate to roughly half of the U.S.’s total current natural gas production today,” Granholm said at the time.

Trump is “ignoring the stark reality of what it means to ship America’s energy overseas,” Sierra Club Director of the Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Cathy Collentine said in January.

“Domestic energy prices will go up, the local fishing industry along the Gulf Coast will be decimated, our air and water will be polluted and our health threatened,” Collentine said. “Trump is making no effort to hide the fact that he cares more about making gas CEOs bigger profits than he does about the wellbeing of everyday Americans.”