Bush touts importance of LNG imports, energy independence

Bush touts importance of LNG imports, energy independence

Washington (Platts LNG Daily)--29Apr2005


President Bush announced a series of measures Wednesday that he said would
"reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy," except for LNG,
apparently.

"We need to address a major problem facing our country?and that is our
nation's growing dependence on foreign sources of energy," Bush told a
conference of the Small Business Administration. "Because of our foreign
energy dependence, our ability to take actions at home that will lower prices
for American families is diminishing. Our dependence on foreign energy is like
a foreign tax on the American people."

Bush pointed to technological innovations as the key to reducing foreign
energy reliance. "Technology is also helping us to get at reserves of natural
gas that cannot be?easily reached by pipelines," he said. "Today, we're able
to super-cool natural gas into liquid form so it can be transported on tankers
and stored more easily.

"Thanks to this technology, our imports of liquefied natural gas nearly
doubled in 2003. Last year, imports rose another 29%. But our ability to
expand our use of liquefied natural gas is limited" because currently only
five LNG import terminals are operating in the United States, Bush said.

As a result, "federal agencies must expedite the review of the...proposed new
projects that will either expand or build new liquefied natural gas
terminals," Bush said, calling on Congress to clarify and strengthen the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authority to site terminals "so we can
expand our use" of LNG.

According to DOE's Energy Information Administration, Trinidad & Tobago was
the largest exporter of LNG to the United States in 2003, followed by Algeria,
Nigeria, Qatar and Oman.

In his speech, the president also urged construction of new nuclear power
plants and of new oil refineries?in some cases on closed military bases. He
also urged the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy
exploration, upgrades of the electricity grid, research and implementation of
clean coal and hydrogen technologies, increased conservation, use of renewable
fuels, and the sharing of energy technologies with other nations. 

Bush once again urged Congress to pass a comprehensive energy bill. "I tried
to get the Congress to pass it four years ago. Now is the time for them to
act. For the sake of this country, for the sake of a growing economy, and for
the sake of national security, we've got to do what it takes to expand our
independence."

Without addressing most of the proposals in the president's speech, the
American Gas Association once again reiterated its support for giving FERC
clear authority to site LNG import facilities onshore. 

"FERC has done a good job so far in working with states to grant permits for
new LNG terminals, and we believe its effectiveness will be further improved
if Congress clarifies its authority over LNG siting," AGA said.

Reaction to Bush's remarks on Capitol Hill was predictably partisan. 

Sen. Pete Domenici, a Republican from New Mexico and chairman of the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the president's recommendations
"could make a difference in all energy sectors. He has given us some new
proposals for nuclear power plants, LNG facilities and refineries that could
help with electricity and gasoline prices."

Domenici added that he plans to incorporate some of the president's
suggestions into the mark-up of the Senate energy bill planned next month.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, also applauded the
president's recommendations, noting that a bill he and Sen. Tim Johnson, a
Democrat from South Dakota, introduced earlier this month "supports the
president's proposals by giving more flexibility to tap natural gas resources,
incentivizing more facilities for the storage of liquefied natural gas, and
encouraging alternative fuels."

But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said the
administration proposal "amounts to little more than half-measures and
wrongheaded policies that will do nothing to address the current energy crisis
or break the stranglehold that foreign oil has on our nation."

In the upcoming Senate debate, Reid asserted that his party is "committed to
working in the interests of American families, not big oil or foreign
governments."

This article was originally published in Platts LNG Daily
http://www.platts.com/Natural%20Gas/Newsletters%20&%20Reports/LNG%20Daily/

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