Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources examined the role of the U.S. in liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets and benefits of natural gas production, transmission and exportation for America and its allies.

“In recent years, the production of natural gas has allowed the U.S. to become an undeniable force within the global energy market,” Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) stated.

America’s shale revolution has catapulted the U.S. into a position of energy and economic strength with growing impacts in global energy markets and international affairs.  The panel emphasized how U.S. LNG exports provide a stabilizing effect on domestic production while affording U.S. allies with reliable energy sources.

“U.S. LNG exports have helped bolster the energy security of our allies on every continent and disempower unfriendly and hostile regimes which seek to use vital energy resources as bargaining chips or outright pressure,” Tellurian, Inc. President and CEO Meg Gentle stated.

Christopher Smith, Senior Vice President of Cheniere Energy, Inc., one of the first companies to export LNG from the U.S., testified that in addition to growing the domestic economy, LNG exports “strengthen the global energy market, proving affordable and reliable natural gas to countries around the world.”

Peter Doran, President and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis, stressed the implications and “political and geopolitical costs” of Russia’s stranglehold on the European energy market.

“If there was a time for robust American leadership in Europe – and to increase our own ties that bind us closer to allies and partner countries – this is it,” Doran added.

The hearing follows a bipartisan CODEL led by Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) last week to Oceania, where members examined LNG operations in Australia, New Zealand’s recent regulatory reforms to its power sector, and the strategic importance of energy alliances as a counterbalance to less-friendly powers in the Pacific.

“The one thing I found in this recent trip to Australia, is the United States can play a huge role in working with our allies to stabilize the world geopolitically, if we’re smart on how we actually do it,” Chairman Bishop stated. “That is one of the reasons why we have to have more pipelines and more LNG ports, and we have to be able to do it faster and quicker.”

“I represent a territory that is economically and geographically isolated, but also uniquely positioned on the travel and shipping lanes among the major nations of the Pacific. New Zealand and Australia are key Pacific relationships, and American Samoa is the only U.S. state or territory sharing the Southern hemisphere with them,” Rep. Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa) said.

“The United States is well served by maintaining strong partnerships with allies all across the world. I was pleased to serve as part of a bipartisan delegation to learn more about Australia and New Zealand’s successes in energy production and natural resource management, particularly in the context of the balance of power in the region,” Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-NV) stated.

“Last week’s bipartisan CODEL to Australia and New Zealand mainly focused on energy, renewables, and water irrigation matters. All of these issues are critical to my constituents in Puerto Rico, particularly in the aftermath of the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria,” Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) added.

Click here for additional information on today’s hearing. 

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