DOE Provides Clear Guidance on LNG Export Authorization Amid FERC Notices

Washington, D.C. — Over the past several months, the Department of Energy (DOE) has received questions regarding the status of various applications to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries and recently, in particular, about the status of the Venture Global CP2 LNG, LLC (CP2) and Commonwealth LNG, LLC (Commonwealth) applications. This statement responds to those questions.

On November 27, 2024, following decisions of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued notices with the schedule for supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the CP2 project and its associated pipeline (Venture Global CP Express, LLC), and the Commonwealth project. The FERC notices require that each EIS address issues related to FERC’s analysis of the cumulative air quality impacts specific to the CP2 project’s NO₂ and PM_2.5 emissions and the Commonwealth project’s NO₂ emissions, which could impact local communities.  Additionally, FERC issued an order setting aside, in part, its earlier authorization order for the CP2 project, and explained that “no authorization to proceed with construction of the CP2 LNG Project or CP Express Pipeline Project will be issued . . . until the Commission issues a further merits order.”

Relying on DOE policy and consistent with precedent during the Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations for the program that governs export of domestically-sourced natural gas as LNG to non-FTA countries, DOE cannot complete its review of these two applications—CP2 and Commonwealth – until after FERC’s completion of the environmental reviews and issuance of final merits orders.

The following applications to export domestically-sourced natural gas as LNG to non-FTA countries are still undergoing environmental review before other federal agencies in which DOE is a cooperating agency, such that DOE cannot complete its own review until those other agency processes are completed:

Venture Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC (Docket No. 16-28-LNG) (0.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)); Commonwealth LNG, LLC (Docket No. 19-134-LNG) (1.21 Bcf/d); Venture Global CP2 LNG, LLC (Docket No. 21-131-LNG) (3.96 Bcf/d); New Fortress Energy Louisiana FLNG LLC (Docket No. 22-39-LNG) (0.4 Bcf/d); Gulfstream LNG Development, LLC (Docket No. 23-34-LNG) (0.46 Bcf/d); Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC, CCL Midscale 8-9, LLC, and Cheniere Marketing, LLC (Docket No. 23-46-LNG) (0.47 Bcf/d); Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC and Sabine Pass Liquefaction Stage V, LLC (Docket No. 24-27-LNG) (2.46 Bcf/d).