Blocking LNG Permit Pause Still Leaves Path to FIDs, Permits Unclear

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• “The unanticipated blocking of the U.S. government’s LNG permit pause will not affect projects currently under construction, though the path toward permit approval for new projects is still unclear,” said Alex Nouvakhov, senior director at Fitch Ratings

• On Monday, a federal judge siding with 16 Republican-led states blocked the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from continuing to pause the approval of applications to export liquefied natural gas

• As the earlier pause on issuing new export licenses didn’t affect onstream projects or those that already had a non-FTA export license, this court ruling doesn’t affect them either – Amber McCullagh, senior vice president at Rystad

• “If the administration accepts the ruling, then in theory, export approvals could resume, and some projects could advance toward FID. However, if the administration appeals the ruling, then the projects would still face an uncertain regulatory environment, impeding further commercial progress and eventual FID”

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• “Overall, the increased liquefaction capacity should broadly benefit all U.S. natural gas producers… as the capacity will drive a higher percentage of natural gas production that is sold on the global market” – Michael Ainge, senior director for North American Natural Resources at Fitch

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru)