Lawmakers push to fast track shipping natural gas overseas

February 5, 2013

By PennEnergy Editorial Staff

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U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming supported legislation to speed up the approval process of shipping natural gas overseas. According to the Casper Star Tribune, the bill would fast track exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to countries who are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Japan.
Currently, law requires the secretary of energy to sign off on exports with other nations that have a free trade agreement with the United States and initiate a comment period on exports to countries who do not have a free trade agreement. These steps essentially delay the approval process, the Tribune reported. If passed, however, the new bill would allow the government to skip the comment period for exports to NATO countries and to Japan. It would also mean the government could skip the step for all other countries if the secretaries of state and defense agree the move would be in the best security interest of the United States.http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2013/02/lawmakers-push-to-fast-track-shipping-natural-gas-overseas.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPetroFebruary62013