Bipartisan Coalition Asks DOE Secretary to Open Up Export Opportunities for American Natural Gas

Press Release

Congressmen Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) have sent a bipartisan letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu asking him to allow for more opportunities to export American made natural gas to world markets that are hungry for the product.

Currently, DOE is responsible for policing the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) but has stalled all pending export applications until it can complete a macroeconomic study of the domestic impact of LNG exports. Piling on delays, DOE also recently announced that it would not be releasing its macroeconomic study until after the upcoming election. Gardner and Matheson are pressing Chu for renewed urgency in completing the study and timely approval of all export applications.

"Natural gas is a great source of energy and something we are lucky to have a lot of in the U.S.," Gardner said. "Unfortunately, the DOE approval process for exporting natural gas to overseas customers has become marred by unnecessary roadblocks, and we are asking Secretary Chu to lift the red tape. Exporting LNG will create new jobs, help balance our trade deficit, and contribute to the stabilization of world gas markets."

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