Exclusive: Cruz introduces bill to expedite U.S. LNG exports

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has reintroduced yet another bill to support the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.

Cruz on Monday reintroduced the Natural Gas Export Expansion Act, which would expedite the federal approval process for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). He first introduced it in 2021 and again in 2023 as the Biden administration took more than 200 actions against the industry, including halting permits and banning LNG exports.

“Increasing U.S. energy exports is good for America, and there is no bigger energy producer than the state of Texas,” Cruz told The Center Square. The legislation he has proposed now for the third time “expedites permits for LNG exporters to ensure that Texas-produced gas can be sent to our allies around the world. It will enhance American energy dominance, create jobs, and drive investment.”

He did so as the industry in his home state continues to break multiple production and methane emissions reduction records, The Center Square first reported.

The U.S. became a net exporter of natural gas in 2017 for the first time since 1957, led by Texas and Louisiana “primarily because of increased LNG exports,” according to the EIA.

If Texas were its own country, it would be the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas and the fourth-largest producer of oil. In the first half of 2022, the U.S. became the world’s largest LNG exporter, led by Texas and Louisiana, according to EIA data.

The bill has Republican cosponsors; U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, is introducing companion legislation in the House.

It would amend the Natural Gas Act to expedite non-free trade agreement (FTA) export permits enabling an accelerated application approval process. It doesn’t change existing restrictions for some countries, clarifying that “any nation subject to sanctions or trade restrictions imposed by the United States is excluded from expedited approval.” It also states that the president or Congress “may designate nations that may be excluded from expedited approval.”

“Congress finds that expanding natural gas exports will lead to increased investment and development of domestic supplies of natural gas that will contribute to job growth and economic development,” the bill states.

Cruz also reintroduced the Protect LNG Act earlier this year to ensure courts can’t vacate previously authorized LNG permits. It would prevent courts from halting LNG permits when a lawsuit is filed and require that cases only be filed in the circuit court jurisdiction where the LNG facility is located, not the location of a federal agency that issues the requested permits, The Center Square reported.

If signed into law, it would prevent federal judges in Washington, D.C., from halting LNG permits in Texas, as they did last year. In 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a $24 billion Rio Grande LNG Terminal and Rio Bravo Pipeline project in South Texas. Last year, three federal judges in Washington, D.C., halted the permits.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., a Democrat, argued they took “unprecedented” action and “threatened thousands of jobs, undermined economic growth in Texas, and put future investment in renewable energy infrastructure at risk,” The Center Square reported.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, a Democrat, also blasted former President Joe Biden’s LNG ban, saying it was “a huge mistake,” The Center Square reported. Biden suspended LNG exports as Europe was “begging for it. They need it for national security,” Whitmire said, adding that Texas exports helped lessen European dependence on Russian oil.

After Russia invaded Ukraine and failed European wind and solar projects couldn’t meet demand, oil and natural gas and electricity prices skyrocketed. European countries found themselves scrambling to obtain reliable energy sources, turning to Texas. U.S. LNG exports provided a lifeline “largely thanks to Texas energy production and export infrastructure,” Texans for Natural Gas argued, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Under the Trump administration, the RGV FERC approvals were reinstated, Biden administration policies were reversed and new policies were implemented to “unleash” domestic production, including expediting permitting approvals.

The U.S. leads the world in LNG exports, with the Port of Corpus Christi leading LNG exports in Texas, The Center Square reported.

Nearly 25% of U.S. natural gas reserves are located in Texas; 30% of the largest hundred natural gas fields in the U.S. are in Texas, The Center Square reported.

The U.S. LNG industry “contributes a whopping $43.8 billion toward the U.S. GDP, and generates $11 billion in tax and royalty revenues for local, state and federal governments,” The Center Square reported.