© Reuters. Snow covered transfer lines are seen at the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Lusby, Maryland March 18, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration is delaying a decision on a Louisiana liquefied (LNG) export project that would be the country’s largest but which has raised the ire of environmentalists, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) project is twice the size of its present CP plant, with an export capacity of 20 million metric tonnes per year.
The White House is directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to expand a review of LNG export projects to include more climate criteria, the New York Times said, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The review could lead to delays of another 16 LNG export projects.
A delay of a decision on CP2 until after the Nov. 5 U.S. election could spare the White House from criticism by environmentalists, an important part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s base.
CP2 needs approval of its exports from the DOE. It first needs an approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a panel of three energy regulators that has traditionally approved most LNG projects, only turning one down in 2016, a move it later reversed.
Press officials at the White House and DOE did not have an immediate comment on the report.
Venture Global was not immediately available to comment.
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