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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