By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. will release a draft study on liquefied product exports as soon as Tuesday, a review that is unlikely to be completed before President Joe Biden leaves office, two industry sources with knowledge of the matter said .
Biden in January suspended Department of Energy approval for U.S. LNG exports to major consumers in Asia and Europe so his administration could conduct a study of the booming industry’s environmental and economic impacts.
President-elect Donald Trump opposed the pause and said he would move quickly to reverse it. Trump’s transition team is working to roll out an energy package to approve export licenses for new LNG projects within days of taking office on January 20.
The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The study is expected to include scenarios warning of potential price impacts on domestic natural gas and the environmental impact of the boom in U.S. LNG exports, industry sources said on condition of anonymity.
Brad Crabtree, an assistant secretary at the department, told a congressional hearing this month that the investigation would have a 60-day comment period.
But LNG advocates have said that if the study is not completed by the new Trump administration, it could be harder for opponents to use it as evidence in legal actions against LNG projects.
LNG and natural gas producers had blasted Biden’s pause as an election stunt that undermined the energy security of allies and partners as Europe reduced its dependence on gas from Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The government countered that the pause would not affect exports of super-chilled gas, which are expected to more than double by the end of the decade based on shipments already approved. The US became the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2023.
