Republicans demand to see science behind DOE ban on natural gas exports

(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a scathing letter to the Department of Energy Monday, requesting for the fourth time that it reveal the scientific process used to craft its upcoming analysis of liquified natural gas (LNG) exports.

The DOE announced a partial export ban on LNG in January 2024 while it worked to update the methods used to authorize the exports. The Biden administration justified the move as a way to address climate change concerns.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm recently stated that the analysis is set to be published before the end of President Joe Biden’s term, even though the DOE never revealed the scientific evidence and methods it has been using to validate the pause or produce the analysis.

“Publishing such an impactful and far-reaching analysis without any transparency into the process would diminish the actual and perceived credibility of federal government-sponsored research,” the lawmakers’ letter reads. “For this reason, the Committee requests the Department refrain from releasing any analysis of U.S. LNG exports, in either draft or final form, until the Department explains its actions and addresses our concerns.

“The Committee is perplexed by how the Department could be positioned to finalize a study that was never authorized or funded by Congress,” the lawmakers added.

The halting of LNG exports garnered bipartisan opposition from lawmakers and caused Louisiana and Texas, two main exporters of LNG, to sue the DOE earlier this year.

A federal judge agreed with the states that the ban was illegal, and said the ban was implemented “completely without reason or logic and is perhaps the epiphany of ideocracy,” The Center Square previously reported.

Despite the court ruling, the DOE argued it needed to conduct a study before it permanently lifts the ban.

Lawmakers said that given the lack of answers and transparency from the DOE, the Committee members wrote, “we must assume some level of political motivation drove this halt on LNG exports.”

As such, the Committee has further requested that the DOE preserve all documents relating to the LNG analysis efforts and its drafting, and that Granholm personally commit to cooperating with all of the Committee’s oversight efforts.

The natural gas industry supports millions of jobs and brings tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to increase natural gas drilling and has nominated fracking entrepreneur Chris Wright to lead the DOE next year.