EnergyFactor By ExxonMobil | Pespectives has a new home

LNG forum highlights international benefits of growing trade

Something constructive occurred in Washington last week despite the government shutdown. On Thursday, a subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee hosted a valuable Capitol Hill forum on the international ramifications of increased U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The event brought a bipartisan group of legislators together with diplomats representing nations all over the globe. They discussed the geopolitical and economic ramifications that would result from U.S. policymakers ending their prolonged delays on approving exports of natural gas. The forum’s participants offered a number of compelling arguments in favor of expanding global LNG trade by way of U.S. natural gas exports.

A major contribution to global energy security

One key takeaway from the event: Global energy security will be significantly enhanced by increased LNG trade.

Japan’s energy minister, for instance, noted that increased LNG trade that adds to the diversity of international supply would play a large role in bringing economic stability to the Asia-Pacific region.

India’s representative on the panel pointed out that his country ranks as the world’s fifth largest energy consumer and may need to import 90 percent of its energy in the next decade. Secure sources of supply from countries like the United States can help countries like India grow while helping lessen energy-related tensions worldwide.

The delegates from nations such as Hungary, India, South Korea and Thailand also pointed out that greater use of natural gas worldwide can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Infrastructure investment at risk

Another crucial point raised was that building the multi-billion-dollar infrastructure needed for other nations to accept U.S. LNG is not a given. That investment to a large degree depends on resolving the uncertainty inherent in the current process for permitting LNG export terminals, including one in which ExxonMobil has an interest – the proposed Golden Pass Products project on the Gulf Coast. At present, it is unclear when, or even if, the Department of Energy will act on the application that was filed with DOE nearly a full year ago.

Trade, not aid

Finally, I wish to note the comments of Haiti’s minister for energy security, Rene Jean-Jumeau. He commended the United States for its support for his country’s development, but mentioned that most of that support traditionally has been humanitarian aid, as in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.

What will truly help Haiti’s development, he stressed, was not aid so much as trade.

Mr. Jean-Jumeau’s call for a trade-based relationship recognizes that the path to growth and prosperity is guided by the international exchange of goods and services.

As Benjamin Franklin once noted, “No nation was ever ruined by trade.”


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