LNG EXPORTS ›
LNG exports could create between up to 452,300 new jobs by 2035 while improving America's trade balance.
LNG Exports could add up to $115 billion to US GDP by 2035.
The recently approved Jordan Cove LNG export terminal is the only LNG facility proposed for the West Coast and the only one to directly source western natural gas.
The More Natural Gas America Exports, the More America Benefits
The abundance of American natural gas has created the opportunity to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) in potentially significant quantities. LNG exports are an opportunity to create jobs and grow the economy while achieving greater energy and national security. LNG exports could create between 73,100 and 452,300 new jobs by 2035 while improving America's trade balance.
One legitimate concern about exports is their effect on prices. DOE analyzed whether LNG exports are in the "public interest" and found only modest price increases, from $.22 - $1.11 per Mcf after five years. The White House Council of Economic Advisers reached a similar conclusion in a February 2015 Economic Report, noting that "An increase in U.S. exports of natural gas, and the resulting price changes, would have a number of mostly beneficial effects on natural gas producers, employment, U.S. geopolitical security, and the environment."
LNG exports are particularly important to the West, where natural gas remains constrained by take-away capacity and distance from major population centers. LNG exports represent an opportunity for additional markets, with one planned location, Jordan Cove, that would be supplied in part by western natural gas. The Jordan Cove export terminal Final Environmental Impact Statement was recently finalized, which moves it one step closer to construction.
Bureaucratic delays at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have bogged down LNG projects, prompting Congress to introduce bills to expedite permitting. Many applications languish for years at DOE. The LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act (S. 33 and H.R. 351) would require DOE to issue a decision on authorization to build a natural gas export facility within 45 days of completing the required analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Western Energy Alliance strongly supports legislative action to bring certainty to the permitting process for LNG exports.
The U.S. has more than enough natural gas to meet its own needs. Exporting excess gas to other countries will increase its GDP and put more Americans to work.
Studies show that Europe pays about 3.5 times and Japan five times as much for natural gas as the United States, indicating ready markets for American natural gas overseas.
ICF International Study on LNG Exports
NERA LNG Export Economic Study
Alliance Comments to FERC Jordan Cove LNG and Pipeline Draft EIS
Alliance Comments to DOE 2012 Liquefied Natural Gas Export Cumulative Impact Study
2015 Economic Report of the President
Department of Energy LNG Export Study
Western Energy Alliance 2015 LNG Export Study Comments