The Biden Administration, in its never-ending quest to punish the oil and gas industry for supplying cheap, reliable energy, tried to block the export of liquefied natural gas to Asia. Then Ted Cruz stepped in.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the approval of permits to export liquefied natural gas to Asia after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) held four agency nominees hostage.
Two Sempra Energy facilities on the West Coast will now be able to ship Texas-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia, increasing the supply that competes with Russia to fuel the rest of the continent. They will also allow the transport of LNG supplies by pipeline to Mexico.
The approvals come after the Biden administration’s reticence and Cruz’s corresponding holds placed on four nominees to positions in the DOE. Those nominees are David Crane, to work under DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm; Jeffrey Matthew Marootian and Gene Rodrigues, both nominated to serve as assistant secretaries; and Evelyn Wang, up for director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
A Senate procedural tool, the hold is “an informal practice by which a senator informs Senate leadership that he or she does not wish a particular measure or nomination to reach the floor for consideration.”
Cruz used a similar maneuver back in May to force permit approvals, including one for a Port Arthur facility.
“This decision is a long overdue win for Texas and America,” Cruz spokesman Dave Vasquez said in a statement provided to The Texan.
“These permits will enable West Coast liquefied natural gas export facilities to send U.S. natural gas from Texas and other Western states by pipeline to Mexico, and from there export the LNG to Asia. As a result, American allies and partners in Asia will have access to newer and cleaner alternatives to the coercive energy blackmail pushed by Russia and China.”
The permits will enable the cheaper sale of Texas LNG supply to Asia; it also enables shippers to avoid the congested Panama Canal, thus expediting the supply. In total, the two permits will allow the exchange of 2.33 trillion cubic feet per year of LNG.
In 2021, Texas producers generated 10.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
It’s good to have a senator on your side that knows how to play the game…
Tags: Brad Johnson, Department of Energy, natural gas, oil industry, Regulation, Republicans, Ted Cruz, Texas
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But… but… but… the Big Guy’s ten percent will be affected if we sell LNG!
I mean, “climate change will accelerate”.
(OK Joe, I covered for you, send the cash to the usual place.)
Wait…..If the LNG facilities are on the West Coast, why can’t CA use some of the, er., natural gas?
And where is the other Texas senator in all of this. Quite as usual.
Patricia, I wondered the same thing, because I had never heard of any natural gas export terminals in California. The article does say the “West Coast”, but it doesn’t say it’s the West Coast of the United States! The export terminal is actually located in Baja California, about 31 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border! (The pipeline only passes through California from Arizona on it’s way to Mexico.)
Of course various California jurisdictions are trying to prevent an increase in the use of natural gas. So why would California need more? (I think the state may actually need more natural gas in the future to back up intermittent “green” electricity sources.)