
The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued its first license to allow Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports in months, which many experts believe is part of an effort by President Joe Biden to help Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the upcoming elections.
Earlier this year, Biden announced a temporary ban on exporting LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries, citing climate change concerns. In July, a federal judge reversed this ban, but the administration was still not issuing any permit to allow the export. However, the DOE has now granted New Fortress Energy a five-year LNG export license.
Energy experts believe this is not a policy shift but rather an election-year tactic to attract moderate voters who could influence the outcome of the White House race this November.
According to Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, no one should be impressed by this change, as many larger American projects are still severely impacted by Biden’s LNG pause, and the administration has only lifted restrictions on a small Mexico-based facility.
Pyle further argued that Harris is working hard to reverse her controversial policy positions on issues like fracking and gasoline-powered vehicles and that issuing just one permit in a vast fossil fuel market appears to be an election-year tactic.
He added that the administration could have issued permits to many larger American companies if they were serious about promoting the fossil fuel revolution and creating millions of jobs in the country.
New Fortress Energy is headquartered in the US. Still, it’s Fast LNG 1 (FLNG1) terminal is located in Mexico, which is worrying energy experts who are suggesting that the administration should have given permits to a company that was fully operating within the United States.
Meanwhile, some experts believe that five years is too short a period to make any significant profit from LNG exports, considering that terminals require substantial long-term investment to handle LNG processing and export.
Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners stated that establishing competitive facilities is not possible with such short-term licenses.
Republican operative Mike McKenna also criticized the short-term license and further suggested that the DOE’s decision is aimed at helping Harris in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, as she is “bleeding on this issue” in the Keystone State.
Harris has previously attracted criticism for reversing her stance on fracking to attract voters in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes could play a crucial role in determining the next president of the United States.
Fossil fuels are central to Pennsylvania’s economy. In 2022, the state was the second-highest producer of natural gas in the union, standing just behind Texas. Harris has defended her policy shift, stating that she is building consensus among all Americans, though she noted that her core values remain the same.