US congressman introduces two LNG export legislations

US congressman Bill Johnson on Monday announced two pieces of legislation related to American liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

The first named “Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act (H.R. 4605)” would allow domestic LNG suppliers “to compete freely on the world market,” U.S. Republican Senator Ron Johnson said in a statement.

The bill would allow domestic LNG suppliers to export natural gas after completing the FERC review process – instead of waiting longer for additional approval by the US Department of Energy, according to the statement.

This legislation is co-sponsored by Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents Ohio’s 13th District.

Additionally, “The Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act (H.R. 4606)” codifies the Department of Energy’s recent efforts to encourage the exports of small volumes of natural gas, as countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America look to the United States to meet their natural gas needs, the statement said.

“These bipartisan bills demonstrate support for a vibrant American natural gas export industry, designed to grow our economy domestically while strengthening ties with our allies abroad. I look forward to working with members of Congress of both parties and the Trump Administration to encourage more natural gas exports,” Johnson said in the statement.

“The US is currently the world’s largest producer of natural gas, with trillions of cubic feet of recoverable natural gas beneath our feet. We should be doing all we can to take advantage of this abundant resource, and it is my hope that these bills will help further that goal,” he added.

The US started exporting LNG sourced from shale gas in February last year.

There are four 0.6-Bcfd liquefaction trains currently operating at Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction plant, currently the only such facility to ship US shale gas overseas, and a fifth is under construction and expected to enter service in mid-2019.

By the end of the year, another LNG export facility is expected to join Sabine Pass when Dominion Energy’s 0.7-bcfd Cove Point terminal in Maryland enters service.