US Department of Energy set to greenlight pending LNG export applications

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has moved to end a Biden-era moratorium on US LNG exports to countries without comprehensive free trade agreements with the US.  

Following a mandatory public comment period on a 2024 LNG Export Study commissioned by former President Joe Biden, the DOE said it "will proceed with issuing final orders on pending applications to export US-sourced natural gas as LNG to non-free trade agreement countries".

A statement from the DOE said the move allows the Trump administration "to fully unleash American LNG exports".

“President Trump was given a mandate to unleash American energy dominance, and that includes US LNG exports,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. “The facts are clear: expanding America’s LNG exports is good for Americans and good for the world.”

The 2024 LNG Export Study was released at the end of the Biden administration in December 2024 and had a public comment period through 20 March of this year. The DOE under President Trump unsurprisingly departed from Biden-era reasoning that LNG-linked emissions, which have a more intense greenhouse effect than CO2 over a 20-year period, and therefore its exports, may not be in the best interest of the American public.

In early 2024, then-President Biden enacted a moratorium, calling the move "a temporary pause on pending decisions on exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-FTA countries". Later in December 2024, the Biden administration released a report on the economic and environmental impacts of LNG, urging caution. Among others, the study – outlining several potential scenarios for extraction, use and export of LNG – was aimed at the US Department of Energy, which is required by law to determine whether energy exports are in the US public’s best interests.

President Trump, on the other hand, has long championed the expansion of LNG exports, viewing them as central to American energy dominance. Mr Trump promised to immediately end the Biden moratorium on granting export permits when he took office for a second term on 20 January 2025. 

In Mr Trump’s words, “America’s energy abundance is a tool for economic strength and geopolitical leverage.”

Internationally, the EU and UK energy markets are focal points for US LNG exports, and President Trump’s tariff threats have, in part, been aimed at accelerating LNG exports to Europe.

In its LNG Outlook 2024 report, oil and gas major Shell forecast global LNG demand will soar by 50% by 2040, to 625M to 685M tonnes per year. In releasing the report, Shell Energy executive vice president Steve Hill pointed out that China’s coal-based steel sector accounts “for more emissions than the total emissions from the UK, Germany and Turkey combined,” noting “gas has an essential role to play in tackling one of the world’s biggest sources of carbon emissions and local air pollution.” Limiting LNG supply from the US will slow the retirement of coal-fired industrial plants both in Asia and Europe.

In his previous four-year term, from 2016-2020, President Trump extended LNG export terms through 2050 and aggressively pursued trade negotiations to increase European purchases. Ahead of his current term, President-elect Trump indicated he could expedite stalled LNG permits to create an environment ripe for infrastructure growth.

A US Energy Information Administration report from 2024 said Europe, including Turkey, accounted for 66% of US exports (7.8 Bcf/d), followed by Asia at 26% (3.1 Bcf/d) and Latin America and the Middle East with a combined 8% (0.9 Bcf/d).