On May 28, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a set of recommendations for updating the US Department of Energy's LNG gas export facility impact analysis.  It was described in this NRDC Blog post--

Historically, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has essentially rubber-stamped applications to export liquefied natural gas, or LNG.

By law, DOE must evaluate whether approving more LNG exports to non-FTA [Free Trade Agreement] countries is consistent with the American public interest, but its permission has essentially been a foregone conclusion.

This changed in January, when the Biden Administration announced that it would pause approvals of new LNG export applications while it updates the underlying environmental and economic analysis it uses to determine whether exports are in the public interest.

The agency is taking time to reevaluate the considerations underpinning its cost-benefit analysis of new export terminals.

[Note: Even with the pause in new permits, US LNG export capacity is expected to double as a result of permits already approved and not affected by the pause.  Read more here.]

LNG exports have considerable downsides.

As an initial matter, exporting LNG is incredibly energy intensive.  In the U.S., LNG comes mainly from fracking methane gas in the Permian basin.

Once fracked, manufacturers ship the gas hundreds of miles through pipelines (leaking methane), super-cool it to a liquid state (an energy-intensive process), ship it thousands of miles to overseas markets (using more energy), re-gasify it (using even more energy), ship it hundreds of miles through pipelines again (leaking more methane), only to be combust it (releasing CO2).

Methane is a potent fossil fuel, with 80 times the warming potential of CO2.

In addition to worsening the climate crisis, LNG exports affect public health and ecosystems along every step of the supply chain.

And shipping all that gas overseas raises cooking, heating, and electricity bills for Americans.

It also stymies the global energy transition, potentially slowing the transition to renewables in importing markets, whose investments in LNG import terminals lock them into decades of reliance on fossil fuels. 

As fossil fuel executives have made abundantly clear, there can be benefits to LNG exports as well.

LNG facilities create some jobs and generate wealth for executives and shareholders.

In some cases, LNG might be a lower-carbon substitute for other fossil fuels like coal (although science is increasingly calling that into question).

And a certain amount of LNG has important geopolitical and energy security benefits, as the U.S.’ ability to meet Europe’s energy demand in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed. 

But until now, DOE’s analysis (last updated in the [previous] Administration) has overstated the benefits and underestimated the costs of additional LNG exports.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has become the world’s largest LNG exporter and authorized LNG exports have surged to about 40 bcf/day, triple current U.S. LNG exports.

This radically different reality requires a radically different assessment of the costs and benefits of additional LNG. 

Recommendations

In response, NRDC staff across the international, climate and energy, and policy analysis programs collaborated on a memo to DOE laying out core topics and principles that we believe DOE should consider to robustly update its LNG export review criteria.  

NRDC’s key recommendations to DOE are as follows: 

Section 1: Climate analysis

-- Evaluate LNG export emissions in the context of domestic and global climate goals.

-- Develop a consequential life-cycle assessment of the U.S. LNG supply chain, including all stages of production and consumption, as well as the best available science on methane leakage. 

-- Include a sophisticated analysis of fuel displaced by LNG, including the potential for competition with renewable energy as well as sectoral and geographic nuances.

-- Consider the economic impacts of climate change using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

Section 2: Economic analysis

-- Analyze the impact of increased LNG exports on US domestic gas prices and price volatility, as well as knock-on effects to domestic industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. 

-- Incorporate distributional analysis into economic assessments. 

Section 3: Analysis of local impacts

-- Evaluate local impacts along all steps of the LNG supply chain: exploration and production, transport, liquefaction, shipping, and end use. 

-- Consider a wide range of local impacts, including those to public health, local economies, ecosystems, and biodiversity. 

-- Apply the lens of cumulative impacts and environmental justice.

Section 4: National and energy security

-- Assess the world’s demand for LNG in the context of global and national climate goals.

-- Develop nuanced analysis for key allies’ energy security needs that accounts for climate goals and energy transition plans. 

-- Reflect the national and energy security implications of climate change. 

Section 5: Process

-- Strive for transparency and provide opportunities for the public to weigh in throughout the update process. Solicit ongoing feedback from communities directly impacted by LNG exports. 

-- Apply the findings of this analysis objectively to future export applications and remove barriers to comprehensive export reviews. 

DOE can meaningfully improve the permitting process for new LNG exports by incorporating these changes into its analysis and decision-making.

For the sake of the climate, communities, and the U.S. economy, it is imperative that DOE get it right.

Click Here for a copy of NRDC’s recommendations.

Resource Links - LNG Gas Exports:

-- PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Doubles-Down On Support For Exporting PA Natural Gas To China, Our Economic, Military Competitor  [PaEN] 

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Official Joins Pittsburgh-based EQT In Saying We Have A 'Duty’ To Provide LNG Gas To China, Our Economic, Military Competitor   [PaEN]

-- Stars and Stripes Guest Essay: Pause On Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities Right Move For National Security - Rivals Like China Are Using US LNG To Build Influence - By Steve Anderson, US Army Brigadier General - Retired  [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: ‘Selling Oil And Natural Gas To China?’ ‘It Simply Should Not Happen, Period’  [PaEN]

-- US Senators Introduce Bill To Ban US LNG Gas Sales To Any Entity Under The Control Of Communist China To Protect US Jobs; Americans From Price Spikes; EQT Says We Have A ‘Duty’ To Provide LNG Gas To China; Where Do AMERICAN Interests Lie?  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 25 to 31 - Shale Wastewater Pipeline Spill; Drill Cuttings Violations; More Abandoned Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 1 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 62 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 1 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Week 10: Illegal Dumping Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Continues Unabated On Paved, Dirt Roads, Before It Rains, It Doesn’t Matter In Warren County  [PaEN]

-- The Derrick: PUC Judge Orders 7 Rhodes Estate Water Companies To Secure Counsel For Hearings On Their Future [More Fallout From Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill In Venango County]  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Research Traced Radioactive Radium In Freshwater Mussels To Oil & Gas Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Protect PT Hosts 4 Virtual Workshops On How To Protect Yourself If You Live Near Shale Gas Facilities Starting June 11 [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network, Partners Host June 5 Webinar On Pipeline Methane Leaks - Causes, Impacts, Solutions  [PaEN]

-- Center For Coalfield Justice June 13 In-Person Program On Air Pollution Hazards From Oil & Gas Sites, South Franklin Township Park, Washington County

-- DEP Disapproves Final Cleanup Report On Dozens Of Chemicals At The American Refining Group Bradford Refinery In McKean County For Not Meeting Cleanup Standards [PaEN]

-- Protect PT Lunch & Learn Online Program - Frac-Enomics, Is It Worth It? Now On Demand  [PaEN] 

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Releases Recommendations To US DOE On LNG Gas Export Facility Impact Analysis  [PaEN]

-- DEP Extends Temporary Air Quality Permits For Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County; Shell Said It Will Submit Full Title V Air Permit Application By June 21 Deadline  [PaEN]  

-- 50+ Appalachian Groups Call On US DOE To Suspend ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Project  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- The Energy Age Blog: Cecil Twp., Washington County Latest Township To Realize Current Gas Well Regulations Aren’t Enough To Protect People

-- Farm & Dairy: Cecil Twp., Washington County To Add New Restrictions On Oil & Gas Drilling - Like Living With A Helicopter 100 Feet Over Your Head 24 hours A Day

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Working To Plug More Dangerous Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners - By Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny)

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Subsidiary Of PA Oil & Gas Waste Treatment Company Faces Mounting Pressure Over Radioactive Waste

-- Inside Climate News: PA’s Fracking Wastewater Contains A ‘Shocking’ Amount Of The Critical Clean Energy Mineral Lithium

--  WNEP: Coterra Energy Shale Gas Company Closing Facility In Susquehanna County, Laying Off 50+ Workers

-- PA Capital-Star/Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: PA Gas Producers CNX Wants In On The Hydrogen Revolution

-- The Allegheny Front/WV Public Broadcasting: Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline Completion Delayed Again Due To Incomplete Pipeline Water Testing 

-- Delaware Currents: Gibbstown, NJ LNG Gas, Wyalusing LNG Gas Projects Show A Flicker Of Life

-- Reuters: EU Approves Law To Hit Gas Imports With Methane Emissions Limits To Cut Leaks In Gas Infrastructure

[Posted: May 28, 2024]

6/3/2024