The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved two natural gas projects Thursday that seek to boost gas exports as a rift widens between the fossil fuel industry and environmental critics.
FERC approved the Saguaro Connector pipeline — proposed by Oneok — that would run about 500 miles and transport 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Texas to the coast of Mexico.
Commissioner Allison Clements, a Democrat, issued a partial dissent that urged FERC to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions of such projects. But she said the Saguaro project’s potential greenhouse gas emissions appeared to be insignificant and concurred with the overall decision.
The commission also approved a three-year extension to complete the Driftwood pipeline and liquefied natural gas terminal proposed by Tellurian in Louisiana. The project now needs to be completed by 2029.
Ninety-six miles of pipeline would deliver gas to an LNG facility being built on a 1,200-acre site south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, that aims to ship more than 27 million metric tons of LNG each year to customers.
FERC’s decisions coincided with a vote Thursday by the Republican-led House to give FERC the “exclusive authority” to approve LNG projects. The developments follow the Department of Energy’s LNG export approval freeze late last month, which pauses decisions on new export permits for gas headed to countries that lack a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States.
FERC Chair Willie Phillips, also a Democrat, said in a press briefing after Thursday’s meeting that the commission has been working on LNG independently from DOE. He said “FERC is responsible for the actual siting of LNG infrastructure” and “the Department of Energy is responsible for the actual export and import of LNG.”
“We do not coordinate with the Department of Energy on those two determinations,” Phillips said.
Environmental groups lauded the Biden administration’s decision at DOE and said it will help limit potent climate-warming emissions that can come from natural gas. But it sparked deep concerns from LNG exporters, Republicans, and some congressional Democrats over fears of impacting international allies and raising the price of natural gas at home.
Tellurian spokesperson Joi Lecznar said in an email that the company is “grateful for FERC’s diligence” and thankful to commissioners for the extension of Driftwood’s construction timeline. Oneok spokesperson Annell Morrow said in an email that the company looks “forward to the opportunity to potentially move ahead” with the Saguaro project.
Driftwood has an existing DOE permit to export LNG to countries that without free trade agreements with the United States.
Environmental critics of natural gas railed against FERC’s gas decisions Thursday.
“It’s alarming that FERC would approve the Saguaro Connector Pipeline based on a narrow environmental assessment that ignores the vast majority of the project and its impacts,” Doug Hayes, senior attorney for Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, said in a statement.
Hayes called FERC “out of step with the reality of the climate crisis and communities impacted by these projects.”
Hydroelectric denials
Thursday’s gathering at the Howard University School of Law was the first FERC open meeting that Phillips, the first Black man to lead FERC, oversaw as the body’s official chair. Phillips until last week had served as FERC’s acting chair for over a year, before receiving the official title of chair from Biden.
“As the first Black chairman of FERC, as a graduate of this esteemed law school and as the great-grandson of slaves, it is not lost on me the significance of this moment,” Phillips said in remarks at the meeting.
Phillips’ responsibilities as the commission’s leader remain the same.
Also on Thursday, FERC commissioners announced a new policy that pledges to deny preliminary permits…
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