Government OKs Texas LNG plan

[sky otter]

stuck this here cause it's going to cost us big ..already costing us big..
except this says we are keeping gas prices low..
the little guy is so screwed..





Government OKs Texas LNG plan

By The Associated Press

Published: Friday, May 17, 2013, 9:27 p.m.
Updated 11 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department on Friday conditionally approved a Texas company's proposal to export liquefied natural gas, only the second such project allowed to move forward amid a production boom that has led to a glut of domestic natural gas.

The action would allow Freeport LNG Expansion L.P. to export up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day from its terminal near Freeport, Texas, south of Houston. The DOE said granting such a permit for shipments to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the United States is in the public interest.

Freeport, owned by ConocoPhillips and other investors, is the second export project to win Energy Department authorization, following the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal in Cameron Parish, La.

Energy companies are seeking federal permits for more than 20 export projects that could handle as much as 29 billion cubic feet of LNG a day. If approved, the resulting export boom could lead to further increases in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which has allowed companies to gain access to huge stores of natural gas but raised widespread concerns about alleged groundwater contamination and other problems.

A drilling boom has lowered natural gas prices while boosting production by one-third since 2005. Natural gas production reached an all-time high of 25.3 trillion cubic feet last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In recent months, however, production has begun to level off as the glut of natural gas keeps U.S. prices down. In response, producers have begun pushing to export the fuel to Europe and Asia, where prices are far higher. Approval of all the projects currently under review by the Energy Department could result in the export of more than 40 percent of current U.S. natural gas production.

The gas would be chilled to liquid form before being exported aboard large tanker ships.

Marty Durbin, president and CEO of America's Natural Gas Alliance, an industry group, called approval of the Freeport project a positive step, but said the Obama administration should "pick up the pace of approvals so that the markets can decide which projects go forward."


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