A POLITICALLY INCONVENIENT LNG FACT: Both Democrats and Republicans have been largely quiet on the milestone marked yesterday that the U.S. was the top exporter of liquified natural gas in 2023 – the first full year in which it dominated supply to the global LNG market.
The details: The Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that the U.S. is leading in LNG exports – overtaking countries like Australia and Qatar. The U.S. became the world’s top LNG exporter for the first time in the beginning half of 2022, but that trend was halted after the Freeport LNG export terminal shut down in June 2022 due to a fire, causing exports to decline in the second half of the year. Exports from Freeport resumed in February of 2023 after the terminal returned to service.
According to the report, U.S. exports averaged 11.9 billion cubic feet per day last year – a 12% increase from 2022.
But: This relevant data point doesn’t fit neatly into the political messaging coming from both parties. Notably, Republicans have spent the majority of the Biden administration’s first term criticizing the White House for not facilitating more drilling for more oil and gas – criticisms that intensified after the Energy Department announced it would be pausing new LNG exports.
But on the flipside, the Biden administration has sought to downplay its actions that have benefited the natural gas industry, such as approving the contentious Willow project in Alaska. Instead, it has tried to mollify environmentalists angry that it has not followed through on promises to transition away from oil and gas. A big part of the strategy has been highlighting the administration’s efforts to spend billions of dollars on projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It seems like both sides of the aisle are keeping silent on this latest data point. We reached out to spokespeople from the White House, the Energy Department, and both the Democratic and Republican sides of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. No one immediately responded to our request for comment – except the DOE, which referred us to a fact sheet from the agency on the LNG export pause.
The largest takeaway: There’s a lot of misconceptions around how much LNG the U.S. produces and exports – and oftentimes that can create a lot of confusion among observers of what’s actually happening.
More on that report: Relatively strong demand for LNG in Europe, along with high gas prices around the world, supported increased LNG exports throughout the year. Europe specifically was the destination for 66% of U.S. exports, in efforts to make up for lost supply from Russia.
LNG exports from Australia and Qatar – the second and third largest LNG exporters, respectively – each ranged between 10.1 Bcf/d to 10.5 Bcf/d each year, between 2020-2023. Russia and Malaysia were the fourth and fifth highest LNG exporters in the world over the last five years. Last year, Russian exports averaged 4.2 Bcf/d, while exports from Malaysia averaged 3.5 Bcf/d.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writers Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Nancy Vu (@NancyVu99). Email bdeppisch@washingtonexaminer dot com or nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION APPROVES EIGHTH OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT: The Interior Department announced the approval today of a new commercial-scale offshore wind project south of Massachusetts, clearing the way for up to 2.6 gigawatts of offshore wind power to be added to the grid, enough to supply more than 900,000 homes.
The Avangrid-owned New England Wind Project will be built roughly 20 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Interior Department officials said in a statement. It is the eighth commercial-scale offshore wind project to be approved under President Joe Biden, who set a goal of reaching 30 GW in offshore wind capacity by 2030.
The project approval comes just days after administration officials signed off last week on another large-scale offshore wind project in the Northeast—Sunrise Wind, an Orsted-owned wind development expected to bring nearly 1 GW of wind power to supply residents in New York.
Today’s approval brings the administration one-third of the way to Biden’s 30 GW offshore wind goal, Interior officials said, noting that the approved projects are expected to generate enough wind to power nearly four million U.S. homes.
Biden officials praised the news today as a major step forward for offshore wind in the U.S. But it comes after months of setbacks for developers, who faced poorly negotiated power purchase contracts, high materials costs, and supply chain delays that forced some to renegotiate or exit their plans completely. Read more from Breanne here.
OIL PRICES RISE TO FIVE-MONTH HIGH ON SUPPLY CONCERNS IN RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EAST: Oil prices soared to the highest point so far in 2024, with Brent futures nearing $90 per barrel in response to worries about supply from Russia and producers in the Middle East.
A Ukrainian-based attack on a Russian oil refining facility this morning now appears to have damaged one of its main refining units, which Reuters reports is responsible for roughly one-half of the plant’s annual production capacity.
And tensions in the Middle East soared this morning after Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, which killed two of its top generals and five of its military advisers.
Though Israel has been battling the Iranian-backed Palestinian group Hamas for months in Gaza, any direct involvement from Tehran could create a “region-wide conflict,” with a plausible impact on oil supply, Tamas Varga, an analyst with oil broker PVM, told Reuters.
What’s next: All eyes will also be on OPEC+ leaders as they gather in Vienna tomorrow for their ministerial panel meeting. The group is expected to leave their output levels unchanged, despite an uptick in demand forecasts and stronger-than-expected Chinese manufacturing activity. Read more here.
CCC’S NEW CHAIR: The Conservative Climate Caucus announced Monday that Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will take over as chairwoman of the group, after its founder and chairman – Rep. John Curtis – announced in January that he would launch a bid for Senate.
Meeks, an Iowa Republican who had served as vice chairwoman of the caucus since last year, hails from a state where 62% of its electricity generation comes from wind – the largest wind power share of any state, according to the Energy Information Administration. The Hawkeye State also leads the nation in production of corn and ethanol – which gives reason as to why Meeks is a big proponent of biofuels. Iowa also has few fossil fuel reserves, along with zero crude oil, natural gas, or coal production.
However, Meeks has a lifetime score of 12% from the League of Conservation Voters, based on her votes within the lower chamber. For example, Meeks voted for the House GOP’s signature energy package, H.R. 1, which would streamline permitting rules for energy projects and repeal provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act. She also voted to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule enacting stricter car and truck standards.
Curtis will transition to an advisory role as chairman emeritus.
“I am grateful for Rep. Curtis’ leadership founding and growing the Conservative Climate Caucus,” Miller-Meeks said in a written statement. “The U.S. is a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all while increasing energy production. As I assume leadership of the Caucus, I look forward to continuing to promote an any-of-the-above strategy for ensuring U.S. energy dominance with a globally competitive economy, while simultaneously reducing emissions for a cleaner, healthier planet.”
Heather Reams, the president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, called Meeks a “true champion of clean energy and conservative climate solutions.”
“The majority of energy in her home state of Iowa is generated by wind power, and Rep. Miller-Meeks knows well the wide-reaching benefits that clean energy offers to local communities,” Reams said in a written statement.
FOR YOUR RADAR—HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO CONVENE IN PORT ARTHUR AS PART OF LATEST LNG SALVO: Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will travel to Port Arthur, Texas, next week for a field hearing aimed at examining the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export terminal approvals and hear directly from residents affected by the pause.
The hearing, titled “Biden’s LNG Export Ban: How Rush-to-Green Politics Hurts Local Communities and U.S. Energy Security,” will be hosted by House Energy and Commerce Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Duncan. It’s the latest salvo from House Republicans attacking Biden and their congressional counterparts on issues of U.S. energy security and production ahead of the November election, and they will be looking to advance their argument that Biden’s LNG pause is hurting Gulf Coast communities and putting the interests of “radical environmentalists over the interests of millions of Americans,” as the two said in a joint statement. Find out more information here.
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