Trump creates energy council to boost US oil and gas; approves LNG exports
US President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday it has granted a liquefied natural gas export license to the Commonwealth LNG project in Louisiana, the first approval of LNG exports after former President Joe Biden paused them early last year.
The exports are approved to go to markets in Asia and Europe.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, whose agency is responsible for approving the shipments, said exporting US LNG, "strengthens the US economy and supports American jobs while bolstering energy security around the world."
The US is trying to increase its LNG exports to help reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Trump ordered a lifting of the freeze on LNG export approvals the day he came into office for a second time on January 20.
Commonwealth LNG, which has waited longer than any other company for its permit, wants to build a 9.5 million tonnes per annum export plant in Louisiana to sell to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the US.
"Today's actions demonstrate that President Trump is prioritizing the American energy industry and we are both pleased and grateful to have achieved these important regulatory objectives," said Commonwealth CEO Farhad Ahrabi.
The company is expecting to make a final investment decision in September 2025 as a result of the license and subject to regulatory approval. Commonwealth expects first LNG production from the project in early 2029.
Two other LNG companies, Cheniere and Energy Transfer, have said they plan to move full speed ahead with their plans to export the fuel.
US LNG exports are expected to double before the end of the decade, based on approvals that had been granted before Biden's pause.
Some manufacturers and fuel-dependent industries are concerned it might spike domestic gas prices.
Trump also signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Friday creating a new energy council to be led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, which will seek to expand US output of oil and gas. The US is already the world's largest producer of those fossil fuels.
The president commented on how he plans to boost drilling and said more than 600 million acres of offshore federal waters are now open to oil and gas development, after Biden had taken them off the table.
Trump said he was working on getting approval for the Constitution natural gas pipeline that would bring gas from Pennsylvania's drilling fields to New York, in order to bring down energy prices in the region.
Williams Cos canceled the pipeline in 2020 following opposition from politicians and activist environmentalists in New York, and it is uncertain how it could be approved.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Timothy Gardner, and Curtis Williams in Houston; editing by Deepa Babington and Nia Williams)
