The United States announces a temporary suspension of liquefied gas exports to some countries

The government of USA announced this Friday that it will temporarily suspend exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries with which it does not have free trade agreements.

This decision will not affect exports of liquefied gas to allies of USA in Europe and Asia, even if the countries in question do not have free trade agreements with Washington, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm indicated during a press conference.

”We will ensure that the medium-term energy needs of our partners are met,” said Granholm.

According to the Secretary of Energy, the suspension will not impact the exports of Liquid gas already authorized and, in addition, your department reserves the option of making exceptions to safeguard the national security of USA and protect relationships with its allies.

The decision responds to the need to promote the climate agenda of US President Joe Biden, committed to reducing fossil fuel emissionsincluding natural gas, said Ali Zaidi, the president’s top climate advisor.

Specifically, the Department of Energy wants to evaluate whether the current export rate of Liquid gas benefits or harms the public interest of the country and contributes negatively to pollution.

The last analysis that this department did of liquefied natural gas dates back to 2018, when the capacity of export of USA was less than 113.3 million cubic meters per day.

However, today, that capacity has more than tripled, and USA currently leads the world production of Liquid gaswith the capacity to even double its capacity by 2030, according to data from the Department of Energy.

For this reason, the Department of Energy wants to carry out an in-depth analysis of the impact that this liquefied gas production is having on the climate crisis, and while it carries out that study, it has decided to temporarily suspend exports to some countries.

According to a senior US official, there is no defined timetable for lifting this suspension.

The pause in exports only affects countries with which USA It does not have free trade agreements. It cannot affect those nations with which Washington has signed these types of treaties because, in them, rules for energy exports are usually set and they cannot be modified so easily.

He liquefied natural gas from USA has been key for many countries in Europe that saw energy prices rise after their imports of Russian liquefied gas decreased due to the war in Ukraineto.

Less than two months after the start of the Russian invasion, in April 2022, the European Union (EU) and USA They created a group to reduce the dependence of European countries on Russian energy.

According to a report published on the first anniversary of the creation of this working group, in 2022 USA exported 56 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas to the EU, a significant increase from 22 billion cubic meters in 2021.