The Department of Energy (DOE) pause on LNG export licenses is officially over as the department issued its first permit for a U.S. terminal since the Biden administration’s ban was enacted more than a year ago.
Commonwealth LNG received a conditional non-Free Trade Agreement (non-FTA) export authorization on Feb. 14. The conditional order allows the project to export LNG to non-FTA countries but a final authorization is expected later this year.
The DOE has a backlog of projects pending approval – including Venture Global’s CP2, Cheniere’s Corpus Christi Midscale Expansion, Lake Charles LNG, and more. This is the first permit that has been granted since President Trump ended the LNG pause on his first day in office.
As we discussed in Brand New Day, President Trump signed the Unleashing American Energy order which directs the DOE to restart the review of LNG export applications – undoing Biden’s pause on (non-FTA) LNG export licenses, issued in January 2024. As we noted in Tired of Waiting for You, the pause has been the highest-profile regulatory hurdle facing U.S. LNG development.
However, we should note that getting approval from the DOE, isn’t the cure-all to push the projects forward. Court interference is one of the biggest threats to LNG exports. More than half of the pre-construction projects furthest along in the development process are facing court challenges.
