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 Tuesday, but that pause was halted in court in July.
But, environmental advocates expressed disappointment in the administration, as some hoped it simply wouldn’t approve major gas projects even without a formal pause.
Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. program manager at advocacy group Oil Change International, said in a statement that the Energy Department “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.”
The pause on new LNG export approvals was widely seen as an overture toward the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Read more at TheHill.com.
