Reuters: Politics: Energy Department delays release of LNG export report

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Energy Department delays release of LNG export report Sep 17th 2012, 21:10 WASHINGTON | Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:10pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday once again put off release of a report on liquefied natural gas exports, further delaying decisions on the potentially contentious issue of sending U.S. gas abroad. Commissioned by the Energy Department to examine the economic impact of LNG exports, the report by an unidentified third-party contractor is now expected to be completed by the end of the year. The delay means any decision on natural gas exports will likely be made by the victor in the November 6 presidential election - either President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. The department, which has said it will not make any decision on allowing further LNG exports until the analysis is completed, had previously pledged to release the report by late summer. "The Department of Energy takes its statutory responsibility to make public interest determinations on natural gas export applications very seriously and is committed to taking the time necessary to get the decisions right," the department said in a statement. It was the second delay of the report, which was initially expected in March. Natural gas exports to all but a handful of countries with Free Trade Agreements with the United States require approval from the department. After years of projections that the United States would increasingly need to rely on foreign sources for natural gas, advances in drilling techniques have led to a boom in shale gas production that has put the country in a position to export excess gas. But manufacturers and some lawmakers have raised concerns that exports could increase energy costs and undercut U.S. industries. The department has approved exports from just one project, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass terminal. After that approval, the Obama administration put LNG export applications from companies such as Dominion Resources and Sempra Energy on hold pending the outcome of the economic analysis. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio and Dan Grebler) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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