E2-Wire

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Energy OKs seventh natural gas export project

by By Laura Barron-Lopez and Timothy Cama - 03/24/14 6:19 PM ET

OREGON EXPORT FACILITY: The Department of Energy (DOE) gave a “conditional” authorization to Veresen Inc. Monday to export liquefied natural gas from its planned Oregon facility to countries that don’t have free trade agreements with the United States.

Lawmakers who have pushed for increased natural gas exports to retaliate against Russia were happy with the approval, but still want to see a faster review process from the department.

{mosads}Don’t count on Jordan Cove changing Russia’s control of energy in Eastern Europe anytime soon, though: the project still needs multiple federal, state and local permits before it can even break ground, and it won’t be ready to export until 2019 at the earliest.

Check E2-Wire on Tuesday for more reaction on the DOE’s approval of the Oregon export facility.

NATURAL GAS DEBATE: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) will push the conversation on natural-gas exports forward Tuesday during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the subject.

Landrieu is expected to make the case that an increase in liquified natural gas exports would create high-paying jobs and turn the U.S. into an energy superpower.

Administrator of the Energy Department’s stat shop, Adam Sieminski, and Jaroslav Neverovič, minister of the Energy for the Republic of Lithuania, are expected to testify.

Speaking of natural gas … A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon on a bill proposed by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) aimed at providing expedited approval of natural-gas exports to World Trade Organization member countries.

Witnesses include the Energy Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Oil and Natural Gas, Paula Grant, as well as the vice president of the American Public Gas Association, Dave Schryver, among others.

Rest of Tuesday’s agenda …

The House Appropriations Committee will examine the Energy Department’s budget for applied energy funding Tuesday morning, and later in the afternoon will take a look at the agency’s budget for the Office of Science.

A House Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Interior Department’s proposed budget for its Bureau of Reclamation and main utility power administrations.

Officials from Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey and Interior Department are among those testifying.

The Sierra Club will release a new poll on public opinion in North Carolina of coal ash regulation amid the recent spill by a Duke Energy plant in the Dan River.

NEWS BITES:

Got gas exports? In the ongoing debate over expanding liquefied natural-gas exports, Bill Cooper, the president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, said Monday that approving new terminals would definitely have an impact on Eastern Europe.

“I’ve heard all the criticisms that the exports will go to particular destinations and that they can’t reroute somewhere else,” Cooper told reporters. “But if those new cargoes are going to Asia, that frees up cargoes currently going there and they can be rerouted to other places.”

He added that while new terminals would not have an immediate impact on gas supply, it “sends a geopolitical message and provides those countries with economic opportunities to seek gas elsewhere.”

Energy jobs… The Laborers’ International Union of North America welcomed the Energy Department’s approval of natural-gas exports at the Jordan Cove terminal in Oregon. The project will create 3,400 jobs at the peak of construction, the union said.

“We encourage a rigorous, but expeditious and efficient, review process so that men and women in the still depressed construction industry can get to work and provide for their families while strengthening our economy,” Terry O’Sullivan, LIUNA’s general president, said in a statement.

Mountaintop mining… The League of Conservation Voters sent a letter Monday to members of the House urging them to vote this week against a bill the group said would allow mining companies to dump waste into waterways.

“Stream buffers zones are essential for protecting waterways from toxic coal mining waste,” the green group said.

Purple mountains majesty… The Natural Resources Defense Council is also launching an attack on mountaintop mining ahead of the House vote on the bill, H.R. 2824, which would limit the Obama administration from rewriting a Bush-era bill on stream protections.

Country singer Willie Nelson lent his song to the green group for a new “music video” the green group posted here.

AROUND THE WEB:

Murray Energy Corp., a coal-mining company based in Ohio, sued the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the agency didn’t properly consider the costs of some environmental regulations to the coal industry, the Pittsburgh Business Journal reports.

A study found that the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster caused severe defects in tuna embryos and larvae, killing some and cutting others’ lives short, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Associated Press looks back on the Exxon Valdez disaster and oil spill 25 years later, finding that wildlife, the fishing industry and oil shipments have changed drastically.

IN CASE YOU MISSED:

Here’s what ran on E2-Wire on Monday…

– Group launches ads against bill curbing national park designations
– UN official: On track to reach 2015 global climate treaty
– DOE approves Oregon natural gas terminal
– Sen. Heitkamp pushes coal-friendly legislation
– Coast Guard rushes to clean oil spill near Houston
– Issa subpoenas EPA on Alaska mine rejection
– Supreme Court rejects EPA coal mining permit case
– Enviro groups launch $5M push against Kochs
– Pollution in Beijing 10 times above safety levels
– Pro-McConnell group touts his work on coal
– EPA joins North Carolina in probe of coal ash spill
– Week ahead: Lawmakers dig deeper on gas exports