Two Texas lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday to address a backlog of applications for building facilities to export liquefied natural gas, a problem that is challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to share the U.S. shale boom with the rest of the world.
The U.S. has only two facilities along the coasts to export liquefied natural gas, or LNG, the chilled, liquid form that gas must be converted to for it to be shipped in giant tanker vessels across seas.
Another four are set to enter service by the end of 2019, and four more have earned regulatory approval.
But more than a dozen are awaiting permitting approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a backlog that the panel is struggling to meet because of a manpower shortage, and other issues. It’s been three years since FERC approved a new LNG plant.
To resolve that crunch, Reps. Pete Olson, a Republican, and Gene Green, a Democrat, introduced legislation that would give FERC the authority to pay outside of government pay scales for positions where they have problems attracting talent.
“Not only is this step important in getting infrastructure built in this country, but it has precedent. The Securities and Exchange Commission was given similar authority by Congress to bridge the wage gap in the financial sector,” Olson told the Washington Examiner. “It makes sense in highly specialized energy jobs to do the same. Our energy can’t be properly utilized sitting in storage instead of being shipped to markets that need it. We must address this fundamental backlog in a smart way. Giving FERC needed pay flexibility in specific jobs will reduce that backlog and address a critical need.”
Building additional facilities will be key to enticing Europe to buy more LNG from the U.S. to diversify its energy supplies away from cheap gas supplied by Russia. President Trump said Wednesday he reached a deal with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to import more American gas. Junker said the European Union will purchase more natural gas from the U.S. as the number of LNG export terminals increases.
The Texas lawmakers, representing oil and gas producing districts, acted to help make that happen after listening to the concerns of FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, a Republican.
This month, Chatterjee issued a missive on Twitter proposing solutions to the permitting crunch.
Facing a manpower shortage, he said FERC should be able to give pay raises to its lawyers and engineers who review complex LNG export applications. He recommended the commission should open an office in Houston, Texas — the U.S. energy hub — so employees can live where they work.
“The task of reviewing applications for vital infrastructure such as liquefied natural gas export terminals is among the Commission’s top responsibilities,” Chatterjee said in a statement. “While the talented staff at the Commission has been working diligently to evaluate these applications, more needs to be done to ensure our process moves forward in an efficient manner. All stakeholders, from project developers to local communities, appreciate a process that is timely and predictable.”
FERC is already taking other actions to address the permit application backlog.
It has hired outside contractors to help review applications. The commission announced this month it is finalizing a policy with the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to “refine and reduce the permit application review process” for LNG facilities.
The Energy Department, meanwhile, is planning to speed the approval process for projects to export small amounts of liquefied natural gas, enabling the agency to automatically approve applications if they are at or below 51.75 billion cubic feet of exports per year, without an environmental review.
