(P&GJ) — Amy Andryszak, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), released the following statement regarding President Biden’s announcement that his administration will pause permits for new LNG export terminals:
“INGAA and our membership are disappointed by the misguided and potentially detrimental decision by the Biden administration to freeze reviews of all pending LNG terminal applications for an undetermined amount of time.
“U.S. produced LNG is the cleanest in the world and continues to be a powerful tool in ensuring national and global security following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Placing new, additional restrictions on exports of American LNG could amount to abandoning our allies at a time of geopolitical instability.
“Concerns about the economic impacts of LNG exports are misinformed. The U.S. has enough dry natural gas to last nearly 90 years; because of our abundant resources, we do not need to choose between supporting Americans at home or our allies abroad. We can do both, but we need the infrastructure to move that gas from where it is produced to where it is consumed, including abroad via LNG export facilities.
“Additionally, U.S. LNG plays an important role in the global energy transition by displacing dirtier fuels abroad, including coal and Russian gas, that other countries will continue to rely on without an American-provided alternative. Mitigation of climate change is a global endeavor, and this policy is delaying the use of the U.S.’s best tool for global decarbonization.
“The administration needs to appreciate that even a “pause” on approvals can potentially cause devasting ripple effects on national security, energy investments, the supply chain, and American workers and consumers. INGAA urges the President and those within his administration to reconsider this decision and resume timely reviews of LNG terminals, and stands ready to work with lawmakers and energy producers to ensure that natural gas can be delivered from production basins to end use consumers.”