Leaders of the natural gas industry in Texas and Louisiana say they are moving full-speed ahead with their plans. This follows President Donald Trump’s executive order to lift the freeze on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. In all, More than a dozen projects are proposed on the Gulf Coast.
As Halle Parker with Louisiana Public Radio’s Coastal Desk reports, the U.S. Department of Energy will start reviewing applications to send U.S. natural gas overseas as part of the Trump administration's promise to unleash American energy. The U.S. is currently the world's largest gas exporter. Under Biden, the agency had slow-walked permit decisions for almost a year while it studied the effect of natural gas exports. Last month, the energy department released the study and issued a dire warning against scaling up LNG exports. At the time, Biden officials said the U.S. was already exporting more than enough to meet global demand and said it could drive up energy prices domestically. Trump officials also extended the study's public comment period. Experts say this will allow LNG supporters to call for revisions.

Louisiana U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., applauded the President’s executive order. In a recently released statement Cassidy stated, “The war on American energy, American workers, our national security, and our allies is over! Louisiana is ready and equipped to lead the way in supplying the world with American natural gas.” On January 26, 2024, Cassidy led 25 Republican senators “in blasting the Biden Administration for pausing all pending non-FTA export permit applications.”