Biden administration approves natural gas exports after pause is halted

The Biden administration on Tuesday granted a gas export terminal the authority to ship fuel abroad after a court blocked its efforts to delay such permissions. 

The Energy Department approved shipments from a New Fortress Energy facility in Mexico to countries with which the U.S. does not have a free-trade agreement.

The gas in question is originally sourced from the U.S.; it then will be transported to Mexico and later to other countries.

The administration announced earlier this year that it would pause new approvals for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports like the one it approved on Tuesday, but that pause was halted in court in July.

Nevertheless, environmental advocates expressed disappointment in the administration, as some hoped it simply wouldn’t approve major gas projects even without a formal pause in place. 

“The Department of Energy’s decision to approve the New Fortress LNG Terminal is deeply concerning,” said Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. program manager at advocacy group Oil Change International, in a written statement. 

“By doing so, it has broken its own commitment to pause LNG export authorizations— a commitment made out of recognition that its current guidance doesn’t adequately consider the risks LNG exports pose to the climate, environment, and public health and safety,” Rosenbluth said. 

The pause on new LNG export approvals was widely seen as an overture toward the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. 

And the new export approval comes as Vice President Harris, in her presidential campaign, has shifted toward the center on other issues, including fracking. 

A spokesperson for the Energy Department noted that the facility is already constructed and operational. The official added that it does not increase “the total volume of LNG” that the facility can export, but does increase exports to countries without U.S. free trade agreements by about 3 percent. 

The department’s pause announced earlier this year came in conjunction with a review of its approval practices, including the extent to which factors like climate change are considered. The spokesperson said that the department is continuing to update how it evaluates these projects moving forward.

Under the new approval issued on Monday, New Fortress Energy will be allowed to export about 1.4 million tonnes per year of gas for five years. 

In a statement, the chair and CEO of New Fortress Energy said that as a result of the approval, the company is “now able to freely supply cheaper and cleaner natural gas to underserved markets across the world.”

Updated at 4:38 pm.