(US Chamber of Commerce, 17.Dec.2024) — US Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Policy Marty Durbin today issued the following statement regarding the Biden Administration’s report on LNG exports and a new Chamber-supported S&P Global study that provides a comprehensive analysis of the benefits of LNG.
“LNG exports are not only in America’s national interest, but also in the world’s interest, including our European allies seeking to break free from dependence on Russian gas. From the beginning, the White House moratorium on new LNG export facilities was a politically-driven exercise with harmful impacts on the U.S. economy and the energy security of America’s allies. It should end immediately.
“We will thoroughly review the DOE report, but it appears to rely on questionable methodology and puts a thumb on the scale to downplay the clear economic, environmental and security benefits of U.S. LNG. This contradicts many other analyses that detail the benefits of LNG exports—including Phase 1 of the Chamber-supported study released today by S&P Global.
“The S&P Global study provides a comprehensive and objective analysis of the economic, market, and global impact of U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports and details the breadth and magnitude of the US LNG sector and its positive impact on energy markets in the U.S. and around the world.
“The research conducted by S&P Global’s team of world class experts stands in stark contrast to the DOE report. It projects that LNG will add $1.3tn to the US economy through 2040, creating nearly 500,000 new jobs and contributing $166bn in tax revenues, all while America’s energy producers help keep our manufacturing sector competitive with some of the lowest natural gas input prices in the world. The results further illustrate the economic, environmental, and geopolitical harm of blocking new LNG exports, which, if continued, would see LNG replaced overwhelmingly by fossil fuel resources from other countries.
“The Chamber looks forward to working with both outgoing and incoming Department of Energy officials to ensure S&P Global’s analysis is integrated into project reviews and ongoing public interest analyses.”
Key Findings of S&P Global LNG Export Impact Study, Phase 1:
LNG Export Benefits to date:
- +$40bn in GDP
- 273,000 jobs
- +$54bn in federal and state tax revenue
- US LNG industry exports are greater than corn and soybean exports, 2X US movie and TV exports, and nearly half of US semiconductor exports.
- 2023 US LNG export value of $34bn improves the balance of trade and is equivalent to 16% of the America’s trade deficit with the EU.
Projected Additional Benefits Through 2040:
- +$1.3tn in GDP
- +495,000 jobs
- +$166bn in federal and state tax revenue
- +1.1 million barrels per day of natural gas liquids (NGL) production—a key feedstock supporting domestic U.S. manufacturing and competitiveness
Benefits at Risk if Pending Projects are Blocked:
- -$251bn in GDP
- -102,000 jobs
- -$33bn in federal and state tax revenue
Global Impacts of Blocking LNG Exports:
- 85% of lost US LNG supply would be replaced by foreign fossil fuels
- Europe and Asia delay coal plant retirements and fuel switch to coal and oil
- Global gas demand steadily grows through 2040, leading to a need for 100 million metric tons of new LNG export capacity.
- Without additional growth from the US existing LNG projects in Qatar, Canada, and Mozambique are accelerated and new LNG projects in Argentina, Indonesia, Oman, and Russia are built
Other Key Findings:
- Thanks to abundant low-cost supply, natural gas production has grown at 3 times the rate of LNG exports since 2010.
- As a result, natural gas prices have trended lower even as the US became the world’s leading LNG exporter. Prices for US families and businesses are now among the lowest in the world.
- The US has an enormous supply of affordable and accessible natural gas resources, estimated at ~1,300 trillion cubic feet (tcf) gas resources with break-evens below $4 per million btu—an amount equivalent to 35 years of demand at current levels
- Continued export growth will have a negligible impact on US residential natural gas prices (less than 1%).
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