DOE lays out new reporting requirements for LNG exporters

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters have new rules regarding how they report the destinations of their deliveries.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said this week that U.S. LNG exporters are only required report the country or countries of LNG deliveries, not the country of end-use. Further, DOE announced plans to streamline the reporting requirements for LNG export supply sales and contracts.

“With the United States now being the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas, it is imperative that U.S. LNG companies have all the tools they need to get their American product into the international market,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said. “By streamlining the destination reporting requirements, the Department of Energy is taking an important deregulatory step forward in order to better provide reliable U.S. LNG to our friends and allies abroad.”

Currently, DOE requires some LNG exporters to report the final country of end-use, but given the complexity of some LNG export transactions, and the challenges associated with tracking LNG exports all the way to their point of end-use, DOE is changing the reporting requirements.

“Increasing U.S. LNG exports to the world market brings great benefits to Americans here at home and our allies abroad from cleaner air to increased job growth and energy security,” Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg said. “Right now, the U.S. is growing its position as a global leader in LNG exports and is projected to be the third largest in the world behind Australia and Qatar by the end of 2019. Today’s action is another way the Trump Administration is working to advance American energy dominance.”

The DOE is also seeking to clarify a rule on which types of supply and sales contract agreements need to be reported and when they must be filed. Currently, all long-term LNG export authorization holders must report all long-term supply and sales contracts.

The U.S. has exported over 1.7 trillion cubic feet of U.S. natural gas. There are currently three large-scale LNG export projects — Sabine Pass, Dominion Cove Point, and Corpus Christi — in operation, which have a combined operating export capacity of approximately 4 Bcf/d. Three more export projects are under construction.