US Energy Department Cuts Back on LNG Red Tape

The United States Department of Energy announced that it is making changes to its export rules for Liquified Natural Gas to conserve resources and focus on commercially advanced projects. Previously, the DOE would grant conditional approval to projects to provide regulatory certainty, but is now cutting this intermediate step. The department stated that it has seen a willingness from participants to expend resources towards a required National Environmental Policy Act review prior to conditional approval.

As quoted in the article:

Today, in order to reflect changing market dynamics, the Department of Energy is proposing to review applications and make final public interest determinations only after completion of the review required by environmental laws and regulations that are included in the National Environmental Policy Act review (NEPA review), suspending its practice of issuing conditional commitments. The proposed changes to the manner in which LNG applications are ordered and processed will ensure our process is efficient by prioritizing resources on the more commercially advanced projects, while also providing the Department with more complete information when applications are considered and public interest determinations are made.

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