Energy Secretary Chris Wright Announces Approval of the Cameron Parish LNG Expansion Project

Wright announced his approval of the project at 8:20 AM this morning on Fox Business

Venture Capital Cameron Parish LNG Export Facility

In an interview on Fox Business this morning, Energy Secretary Chris Wright was asked about the Biden Administration freeze on LNG facilities. Wright said that President Trump had rescinded the ban on his first day in office and that 15 minutes before going on Fox Business, he had approved the Venture Global LNG CP2 expansion project, which had been on hold since the Biden ban in early 2024.

He said the project was critical to restoring US energy dominance:

The benefits of expanding US LNG exports have never been more clear, and I am proud to be taking action to support the American people and our allies abroad with more affordable, reliable, secure American energy.

Chris Wright castigated the Biden LNG ban, saying:

I was extremely disappointed to see what was done. In fact, last night I was reading the original report on LNG prepared by the Department of Energy in 2023 that clearly showed it was in America’s interest to grow our LNG exports and it wouldn’t impact domestic prices and in fact it would lower greenhouse emissions. That is what the report said, but the Biden Administration had this of all of government approach against climate change which clearly wasn’t really about climate change or they would have supported things that would drive down greenhouse gas emissions but for their political interest or maybe the Jane Fonda TicTok on the Cameron Parish LNG terminal that they were trying to get approved and in direct contrast of that study, they initiated the LNG pause after that study was produced but never released.

Wright went on to say:

I will break some news for you if you got a second. I just signed literally 15 minutes ago, the approval for the CP2 Cameron Parish 2 Export Terminal in Louisiana. This is a huge growth in US LNG exports and is in fact the very project that Jane Fonda made the TicTok about that drove the Biden Administration to that really ill conceived idea of pausing the approval of LNG projects. But it has now been approved and will generate tens of thousands of jobs across the country, shrinking our deficit and growing American jobs across the country.

Bloomberg filed this report 15 minutes after the Fox Business interview with Chris Wright:

Trump Approves LNG Exports From Venture Global's CP2 Project

President Donald Trump’s administration has granted Venture Global LNG Inc. conditional approval to export natural gas from a planned facility in Louisiana that had stalled under former President Joe Biden.

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s administration has granted Venture Global LNG Inc. conditional approval to export natural gas from a planned facility in Louisiana that had stalled under former President Joe Biden.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright authorized the exports from the company’s CP2 project on Wednesday, saying in a statement the measure was critical to restoring US energy dominance.

“The benefits of expanding US LNG exports have never been more clear, and I am proud to be taking action to support the American people and our allies abroad with more affordable, reliable, secure American energy,” Wright said.

Once constructed, the facility in Cameron Parish would be able to export up to 3.96 billion cubic feet per day of liquefied natural gas. The venture is mammoth in scale, potentially producing 20 million tons of LNG annually and costing an estimated $28 billion to build. Venture Global has yet to make a final investment decision on the project, which would be one of the largest LNG plants of its kind.

Under the approval, CP2 has conditional authorization to export LNG to countries that don’t have free-trade agreements with the US. The order is based on the government’s determination that the sales will yield economic benefits for the US, while diversifying global natural gas supplies and bolstering energy security for allies abroad.

It’s the latest effort by Trump to bolster US gas exports, following a similar license for Commonwealth LNG, permit extensions for two other projects and an order making it

CP2’s authorization is by far Trump’s biggest move on LNG yet. The project’s scale made it a target for climate activists who pressured the Biden administration to block the venture. Environmental groups argue the plant would prolong the transition to emissions-free energy and produce greenhouse gases equivalent to putting 1.8 million new gasoline-fueled cars on the road.

By contrast, Venture Global has said the project will export enough natural gas to replace 33 coal-fired power plants, effectively preventing the release of approximately 140 million tons of greenhouse gases per year.

Ultimately, Biden paused the issuance of new LNG export permits in January 2024, stalling licenses for CP2 and other projects. And last December, the administration released a study that found more exports would raise natural gas prices for US consumers and increase global emissions.

Trump rescinded Biden’s moratorium on his first day in office.

Customers of future LNG supplies from CP2 include Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Inpex Corp. and SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH.

My Take: The export permit approval is the fifth LNG-related approval from the Department of Energy since President Donald Trump took office and lifted the freeze on new export permits imposed by the previous administration. For me, the Biden ban on new LNG facilities was one of the most infuriating moves coming out of the Biden Administration, and that is saying a lot.

The Trump Administration is moving at breakneck speed on all fronts, especially energy projects. President Trump is meeting with representatives from energy companies today, and there will no doubt be many announcements from that meeting.

This is exciting! Stay tuned.

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