Researchers at the Energy Department just released a comprehensive economic analysis, finding that the United States can reap massive economic benefits from allowing the export of natural gas. Will the Obama administration go for the gold — or continue yielding to anti-export hysteria?
In recent years, the nation has seen astonishing technological innovation in the natural-gas sector. Companies have discovered vast, gas-rich shale deposits under US soil. And they’ve developed new, high-tech means of extraction. The estimated reserves of recoverable domestic gas are now over 2.2 trillion cubic feet.
The expansion in supply has already brought a dramatic drop in natural-gas prices, now at a 10-year low. Other countries, mostly in Asia, are eager to buy some of America’s low-cost gas. So 17 US energy companies have applied to export gas. And two proposals for new gas-export terminals — at Coos Bay and the Port of Astoria, both in Oregon — now await federal approval.
But these efforts have met with concerted and growing opposition. The chief complaint is that exporting natural gas will shrink domestic supply and drive up prices paid by American customers. The Energy Department put a hold all the pending applications for natural-gas exports until the now-released study could be completed. But will that clear green light be overruled?
The leader of the anti-export crusade, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), has introduced two bills to choke off exports. His allies include Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), who is set to be the next chairmen of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has called for a "timeout" on natural-gas exports. More important, the White House seems to be dragging its feet on this issue.
The administration commissioned the Energy study specifically to answer any final concerns about the economic impact of exports; now it has an indisputable answer that exports will benefit the domestic economy. Yet over a week has passed since the report came out, and the White House still hasn’t issued an official statement regarding its findings. There’s been no prompt action.
Meanwhile, the administration has taken active steps to drag down the export approval process with even more bureaucratic hoops. The Energy Department is scheduled to hold at least two months of “public comment” hearings on the report next year, and has no hard deadline for a concrete regulatory decision after that.
The argument that exporting gas would lead to significantly higher energy prices at home suffers two notable flaws.
First, it’s overstated. Charles Ebinger, director of the Brookings Energy Security Initiative, recently released a study showing that allowing natural-gas exports would have a “very minimal” impact on domestic prices. The consulting firm Deloitte projects that allowing exports would cause a 20-year price increase of just 1.7 percent.
This isn’t surprising. With their market spanning the globe rather than merely the United States, American
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Let America's Gas Industry Boom
Researchers at the Energy Department just released a comprehensive economic analysis, finding that the United States can reap massive economic benefits from allowing the export of natural gas. Will the Obama administration go for the gold — or continue yielding to anti-export hysteria?
In recent years, the nation has seen astonishing technological innovation in the natural-gas sector. Companies have discovered vast, gas-rich shale deposits under US soil. And they’ve developed new, high-tech means of extraction. The estimated reserves of recoverable domestic gas are now over 2.2 trillion cubic feet.
The expansion in supply has already brought a dramatic drop in natural-gas prices, now at a 10-year low. Other countries, mostly in Asia, are eager to buy some of America’s low-cost gas. So 17 US energy companies have applied to export gas. And two proposals for new gas-export terminals — at Coos Bay and the Port of Astoria, both in Oregon — now await federal approval.
But these efforts have met with concerted and growing opposition. The chief complaint is that exporting natural gas will shrink domestic supply and drive up prices paid by American customers. The Energy Department put a hold all the pending applications for natural-gas exports until the now-released study could be completed. But will that clear green light be overruled?
The leader of the anti-export crusade, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), has introduced two bills to choke off exports. His allies include Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), who is set to be the next chairmen of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has called for a "timeout" on natural-gas exports. More important, the White House seems to be dragging its feet on this issue.
The administration commissioned the Energy study specifically to answer any final concerns about the economic impact of exports; now it has an indisputable answer that exports will benefit the domestic economy. Yet over a week has passed since the report came out, and the White House still hasn’t issued an official statement regarding its findings. There’s been no prompt action.
Meanwhile, the administration has taken active steps to drag down the export approval process with even more bureaucratic hoops. The Energy Department is scheduled to hold at least two months of “public comment” hearings on the report next year, and has no hard deadline for a concrete regulatory decision after that.
The argument that exporting gas would lead to significantly higher energy prices at home suffers two notable flaws.
First, it’s overstated. Charles Ebinger, director of the Brookings Energy Security Initiative, recently released a study showing that allowing natural-gas exports would have a “very minimal” impact on domestic prices. The consulting firm Deloitte projects that allowing exports would cause a 20-year price increase of just 1.7 percent.
This isn’t surprising. With their market spanning the globe rather than merely the United States, American