US House panel leaders press DOE for internal documents on LNG pause

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee is pressing US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for more transparency about the scope of studies the national labs will undertake on the benefit of future LNG export approvals, and is seeking internal communications related to the administration's temporary pause on the reviews of export applications.

Republican leaders on the committee wrote Granholm to say that an April 11 briefing by DOE representatives failed to fully answer their prior inquiries into the matter.

The department "has yet to answer two critical questions, the lawmakers wrote, including "what is the scope of topics to be considered under the update to economic and environmental analyses" and "who will determine the scope of topics?"

"Without knowing the full scope of what environmental and life cycle analyses will be required and who within the Department has given direction to the National Laboratories on matters such as what demand conditions can or cannot be evaluated, it is impossible to label this effort as independent technical information," they said in the April 23 letter.

The Biden administration Jan. 26 announced that it would pause issuing licenses to export US LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement nations until the DOE updates how it considers the impacts of the new permits on the economy, the environment and national security.

The pause was cheered by environmental activists but drew outcry from gas industry officials, some of whom feared DOE would put its thumb on the scale for the upcoming study. The administration also has faced accusations that the pause was a political sop to bolster enthusiasm from young, climate-focused voters frustrated by President Joe Biden's approval of large fossil fuel projects.

The lawmakers' inquiry delves into the Biden administration's deliberations regarding the pause.

The April 23 letter requested internal documents and communications by May 8, between DOE and the labs, related to the economic or environmental analyses, as well as internal DOE communications on the topic. In addition, the lawmakers sought communications among DOE staff related to the pause in LNG export reviews including the legal and scientific justifications.

Signatories on the letter include the science panel's chairman, Representative Frank Lucas, Republican-Oklahoma, as well as three of the panel's subcommittee chairmen: Representatives Jay Obernolte, Republican-California; Brandon Williams, Republican-Texas; and Max Miller, Republican-Ohio.

The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Granholm has previously said a review of the department's approach was needed given that the DOE's last full economic analysis of LNG exports was completed in 2018, when US export capacity was less than 4 Bcf/d, or less than a third of its current capacity.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer also has said he is prepared to subpoena Granholm after requests for her to appear at an oversight hearing delving into the department's activities have repeatedly been declined.

Environmental groups have argued that the DOE's prior LNG studies are not up to date with the latest scientific research on greenhouse gas emissions along the natural gas supply chain, with environmentalists at times pointing to studies by Robert Howarth of Cornell and others to support their case that gas may be worse than coal.

Ahead of the DOE studies, the trade groups LNG Allies and American Exploration and Production Council unveiled a consultant's analysis April 16 that found lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with US LNG exports to 13 nations in Europe and Asia for power generation were lower than those associated with use of coal or pipeline transportation of gas in most of the nations.

The report by Berkeley Research Group covered 13 nations that are the largest markets for US LNG and analyzed GHG emissions volumes and intensity for the full supply chains of US LNG, pipeline gas and coal.