Slaying Relics: Bipartisan Support for LNG
While doing a deep dive into our history as part of our anniversary celebrations, I’ve been struck how cyclical many of the issues are that the Alliance has faced over the last 50 years. There are ebbs and flows to access to public lands, EPA regulations, and taxes. It’s a little depressing when I read an old document that expresses a political challenge almost exactly like one we’re facing today. Yesterday’s proposed BTU tax is today’s carbon tax. Today’s leasing ban is yesterday’s programmatic environmental impact statement dragging on for years. Yesterday’s attempt to eliminate Intangible Drilling Costs is today’s attempt to eliminate those very same IDCs.
On the other hand, environmental issues of the past often do get resolved because of the superb pace and sophistication of our technological innovation. We’re constantly improving best practices. I’m proud to represent an industry that has met every legitimate environmental challenge, significantly reducing the footprint on the land, habitat fragmentation, water use, and air emissions while speeding reclamation and producing more from every well and field.
Further, there are some issues that really do go away. The Jimmy Carter energy price controls of the 1970s that were eliminated by Ronald Reagan really have a dagger through the heart. The ban on oil exports from the 1970s was overturned under the signature of Barack Obama. Yes, some hard-left Senators try to resurrect the ban every now and again, but it’s not a serious effort.
On the other hand, a relic of bad energy policy does remain with us—the Department of Energy’s (DOE) natural gas export licensing process, courtesy of the 1938 Natural Gas Act. While initiating regulation of interstate commerce through the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC), it also imposed an extra step for the exportation of gas to non-free trade countries. The DOE licensing process isn’t required for other commodities and born of an outdated philosophy that natural gas must be conserved because of its scarcity.
We all know that the words “American natural gas” and “scarcity” should never be said in the same sentence ever again, but that old-fashioned statute remains. It’s the process President Biden hung his hat on when “pausing” LNG export licenses recently as a sop to climate activists.
Bipartisan criticism has rained down on the president. Letters have been sent from many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, and even the media have highlighted the security implications. Luckily, the House will take up a bill this week, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), to get DOE out of the export licensing process altogether and eliminating that archaic step. Of course, natural gas pipelines and commerce should be regulated, but FERC has a handle on that, albeit slower than we’d often like. We sent a letter to majority and minority leadership in both Houses along with our sister trades urging its passage.
Rep. Pfluger’s bill will be voted on later this week. It would be great if many of the Democrats who signed these letters would vote for the bill. We’ve seen bipartisan passage of some favorable legislation even in this highly partisan Congress. For example, 29 house Democrats voted with Republicans on bills to stop the Consumer Product Safety Commission and DOE from banning natural gas stoves, and eight Democrats voted for the Preserving Choice in Vehicles Act to prevent the forced adoption of EVs.