APGA opposes natural gas export legislation

On 28 April the APGA sent a letter the Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee expressing opposition to the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act (H.R. 6) introduced by Representative Gardner. The APGA testified in opposition to this legislation on 25 March at a hearing in the Energy and Power Subcommittee. Rep. Gardner introduced H.R. 6 on 6 March 2014 in response to the Ukraine crisis. The legislation would grant free trade agreement (FTA) status for US natural gas to all 159 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In effect, the APGA have said that this would do away with the requirement for the Department of Energy (DOE) to do a public interest analysis on the export of LNG to countries that do not have an FTA with the US. Instead, under this bill, any export to a WTO country would be granted by DOE without modification or delay.

Letter extracts

The APGA communicated in its letter ‘this legislation will fail to achieve its desired purpose of reducing Ukraine and other Eastern European nations’ despondence on Russian natural gas and will increase the price of our domestic natural gas here at home hurting homeowners’ budgets and businesses’ bottom lines.’ The letter also says that the legislation will fail to assist Ukraine as natural gas will be sold by private firms to the highest bidder without any consideration of US geopolitical interests. The letter continues to argue that rather than exporting LNG, the US should be exporting the drilling technology that has enabled producers to tap into huge shale reserves. There are vast shale reserves in Europe, including Ukraine, assuming countries are willing to invest in the technology to access those reserves and also to permit drilling for shale gas reserves.

Adapted from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/02052014/apga_oppose_lng_exports/