Sign Up for FREE Daily Energy News
Canadian Flag CDN NEWS  |  US Flag US NEWS  | TIMELY. FOCUSED. RELEVANT. FREE
  • Stay Connected
  • linkedin
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube2
BREAKING NEWS:

Hazloc Heaters
Copper Tip Energy Services
Hazloc Heaters
Copper Tip Energy


Biden’s LNG Pause Might Be a Model for Other Energy Dilemmas


These translations are done via Google Translate

There’s little to dissuade the administration from replicating its strategy of postponement in an election year.

Welcome to Energy Daily, our guide to the energy and commodities powering the economy. Today, Senior Reporter Jennifer A. Dlouhy assesses whether US President Joe Biden’s tactic for freezing new LNG export permits may be used to delay other sensitive decisions in an election year. To get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

The Biden administration Friday halted the approval of new licenses to export US liquefied natural gas.

The freeze is expected to last months, giving the government time to review how additional shipments might affect the economy and climate.

The moratorium also helps Biden’s fight for reelection.

LNG is one of several contentious energy issues that have drawn fire from climate-minded voters whose support is key to the president securing a second term.

Even a conservative, six-month study of LNG projects, followed by a robust public comment period, effectively punts future decisions on new gas exports beyond polling day on Nov. 5.

“It puts off a showdown,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former climate official under President Bill Clinton and now an environmental policy lecturer. “These issues can be dealt with more clearly after the election.”

Other hot-button energy issues may also get pushed back, such as the future of Energy Transfer LP’s Dakota Access Pipeline, the regulation of carbon dioxide pipes and what kind of hydrogen can qualify for tax credits.

Tarco | Delivering Engineered Solutions
ROO.AI Oil and Gas Field Service Software
GLJ

Dakota Access already carries crude 1,200 miles between the Bakken oil fields and Illinois. But after Native Americans said it threatened water supplies and crossed sacred land, a federal court ordered the government to do a more robust environmental analysis.

While the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a draft view in September, it didn’t give a preferred option for what should happen next. The pipe from North Dakota may still end up being rerouted or even abandoned.

Although a decision on the link is “long past due,” it’s uncertain whether Biden will move forward on the matter during an election year, according to research group Capital Alpha Partners.

As for the hydrogen tax credit, the Treasury has effectively delayed its final determination until sometime next year, Capital Alpha said.

The credit is the subject of sparring between environmentalists, who want tightly defined requirements on the kind of electricity that can be used in the production process, and developers, who say stringent restrictions will snuff out the nascent industry.

After Biden announced the LNG permitting halt, climate activists celebrated in Washington, proclaiming: “When we fight, we win.”

With environmentalists taking a victory lap, there may be little to dissuade the administration from replicating the strategy of postponement when it comes to other green dilemmas.

–Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg News



Share This:



More News Articles


GET ENERGYNOW’S DAILY EMAIL FOR FREE