Senators Urge Administration to Rally Support for U.S. LNG Exports to Allies.

Washington: Office of the Senator Dan Sullivan has issued the following news release:

U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and John Kennedy (R-La.) today sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel urging the Biden administration to publicly support the export of abundant U.S. natural gas to America's allies in Europe and Asia, particularly Japan, which has prioritized energy security in its term leading the G7. The senators asked Ambassador Emanuel to work with Japanese officials to build G7 support for public and private investment in natural gas supply chains, and to streamline permitting and regulations that could otherwise impede natural gas projects.

"Following Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, G7 leaders quickly agreed to reduce and eliminate dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible," the senators wrote. "One year later, however, there remains a gap between the political commitment to backfill the supply of Russian gas taken off the market and the necessary policies to fill that gap. Excessive restrictions on public financing of gas projects and unnecessary delays in approving privately-financed projects impede the development of critical infrastructure to expand output and exports. These impediments must be addressed immediately, as U.S. allies and partners continue to face energy insecurity, with many forced to increase reliance on or return to higher-emitting energy sources."

Sen. Sullivan has previously recounted conversations with senior Japanese officials who told him that White House Climate Czar John Kerry has discouraged them from pursuing the import of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet their country's energy needs.