Without issuing conditional approvals of projects, the US DOE would decide whether an LNG export project is in the national interest only after the final environmental review approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or another agency.
The project’s viability can be better determined by waiting until the completion of environmental review, since the FERC process costs more than the department’s application process, the department said.
Reuters cited Louisiana LNG Energy finance and contracts vice president Steve Martin as saying, "It changes the risk profile of every project that’s out there that hasn’t received an export authorization."
Meanwhile, the department is planning to undertake additional studies of the economic impact of US LNG exports of between 12 billion and 20 billion cubic feet a day.
