Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power reviewed H.R. 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, which was introduced by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) to expedite liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) exports to U.S. allies in the wake of Russia’s recent aggression.  The legislation is designed to grant immediate approval of export applications currently pending before the Department of Energy (“DOE”) and adjust the approval process going forward to facilitate the export of U.S. LNG without delay.

On March 24, 2014, the day before the hearing, the DOE granted conditional authorization for Jordan Cove Energy Project, L.P. (“Jordan Cove”) to export liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from its terminal in Oregon to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States (“non-FTA Countries”).  The Jordan Cove authorization followed shortly after the DOE’s February 2014 conditional authorization for Cameron LNG, LLC to export LNG to non-FTA cCuntries from Louisiana.  As of March 24, 2014, more than twenty applications to export domestically produced LNG to non-FTA Countries remained pending: see here.

A webcast of the Subcommittee hearing, as well as the majority memorandum, witness list, and witness testimony can be found here.  You can access the full text of H.R. 6 and additional details on the issue here and here.  Read more on U.S. LNG exports in our previous posts.