From: Breaking Energy
By Enerknol Research
On April 17, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of Schedule for Environment Review of the $6 billion Oregon LNG export terminal, setting a final review date of February 2016. The FERC filing is a major step forward for Oregon LNG, which has been stuck in limbo for seven years due to market dynamics and regulatory delays, but does little to mitigate concern over the lengthiness of bureaucratic review. The regulatory delays facing U.S. LNG export projects has allowed competing projects in Australia to race ahead in supplying growing Asian demand.
***
The modest bipartisan support that HR.351 received in the House, combined with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee prioritization of the measure and Secretary of Energy Earnest Moniz’s public statements saying that his department would be able to comply, suggest that the bill could be headed to Oval Office. It is increasingly likely that President Obama would sign a bill to streamline the LNG approval process. An economic report released by the White House in February read, “An increase in U.S. exports of natural gas, and the resulting price changes, would have a number of mostly beneficial effects on natural gas producers, employment, U.S. geopolitical security, and the environment.”