The Obama administration's ongoing delay in ruling on 20 pending applications to export liquefied natural gas is stalling US job creation and GDP growth, according to a new report from a conservative economic think tank.
The report, released Thursday by the American Council for Capital Formation, relies largely on controversial estimates from ICF International that giving US LNG exporters unfettered access to global market will help create up to 452,300 US jobs and increase GDP as much as $73.6 billion over the next 20 years.
"We fear that this protracted bureaucratic delay significantly undermines the vast potential that LNG exports can bring to our nation's economy," Margo Thorning, ACCF's chief economist, said in a statement. "This inaction endangers the state, local, national, and global benefits of producing and exporting LNG. America is racing against international competitors for LNG sales abroad, with at least 63 LNG export projects planned or under construction around the globe. So time is of the essence."
The US Department of Energy ruled in May that the Freeport LNG export project in Texas could ship LNG to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the US, only the second such approval the agency had granted.
By law, DOE is required to quickly approve applications to export LNG to countries that have FTAs with the US. But DOE can deny or restrict proposed exports to non-FTA nations if they are not considered to be in the US interest.
In the report, ACCF claims that the long-delayed federal approval process "is creating significant opportunity for delay, which could derail the overall investment if foreign competition is realized."
