OPINION:
Last week, in an attempt to make lies sound truthful and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind (to borrow from Orwell), the Biden administration issued a study that suggested the production and export of liquefied natural gas — natural gas that has been supercooled so it can be transported in ships — might (or might not) exacerbate climate change and might or might not increase the price of natural gas in the United States.
The study was an attempt by the Biden administration to justify its earlier decision to stop issuing licenses to allow the export of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. The administration is not a fan of reliable, affordable sources of energy, which include natural gas. Who knew?
Not surprisingly, this administration would rather not have potential trading partners become fans of affordable, reliable American natural gas.
Unfortunately, companies that want to sell LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States — which is just about every nation on planet Earth — are required to get a license from the Department of Energy. The Biden administration has made it through its entire destructive term without issuing one of these licenses to a new project.
In a particularly egregious show of contempt for the law, the administration even announced a “pause” a year ago in granting these licenses, which it had never granted.
In other words, President Biden imposed a de facto ban on selling American LNG to the world, announced a “pause” to muddy the waters and cooked up a study a year later to justify all of it.
Since 2011, the U.S. has been the world’s largest natural gas producer. We have more than 700 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves that we can recover at current prices, and we can produce more than enough natural gas to fulfill our own energy and manufacturing needs while providing American allies with critical energy. Our ability to project power and help our friends such as Japan and Poland depends on LNG exports, as do hundreds of thousands of American jobs and enormous economic opportunities throughout the supply chain.
This ban imposed by Mr. Biden has created a traffic jam permitting LNG projects. The good news is that President-elect Donald Trump can solve this problem.
In the early years of issuing these licenses to sell LNG, the Department of Energy often issued conditional authorizations after a robust review. These conditional authorizations helped companies and investors have confidence that the project was on the right track.
The incoming Trump administration should use conditional approvals to help American energy projects get back in the game faster while still completing all regulatory requirements.
It won’t surprise you that the Obama administration stopped issuing conditional approvals in 2014. But even as it did that, it noted that the Department of Energy could bring back conditional approvals at any time — for example, if a defunct and intellectually bankrupt administration had created a permitting traffic jam by refusing to do its job.
The new Trump administration will have an opportunity to signal that it is serious about projecting American energy dominance by bringing back conditional approvals and allowing American companies to sell LNG to the world. Doing so at the beginning of the term would send a clear message to our friends, our allies and our adversaries that American energy dominance is back with the reelection of Mr. Trump.
In addition, Mr. Trump’s Department of Energy should make conditional approvals final as soon as possible and not let other agencies impair or slow down those decisions.
These approvals will be critical in restoring investors’ confidence, potential customers and other parties critical to LNG markets. They will be essential to financing projects. Indeed, had the Biden administration not thrown a wrench into the works, many American LNG projects would have already closed financing and be under construction.
Energy dominance will not just happen; it will require diligent, timely and bold decisions by the new administration. Clearing away the regulatory obstacles and enabling American companies to dominate the global LNG market would be an excellent start.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times.
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