The American Public Gas Association Friday asked US regulators to reject Cheniere Energy's proposal to export US-produced natural gas as LNG.
The trade group, which represents municipally-owned gas distribution utilities, said in comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the shipments would destabilize US gas prices and threaten energy security.
"FERC owes a duty to the American people to ensure that US energy markets function efficiently, not a duty to try to invigorate a global market for natural gas by encouraging exports of domestically produced gas," APGA said.
A subsidiary of Cheniere Energy Partners, Sabine Pass has proposed to build a liquefaction plant to export US gas from its import terminal in Louisiana. It asked regulators last fall for authorization to ship up to 803 Bcf/year for 20 years.
The proposal has drawn support from major US gas producers and the congressional delegations of Louisiana and Oklahoma. In addition to APGA's filing, the only other opposition has come from the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, which said exports would raise prices, hurt manufacturing jobs and threaten energy independence.
APGA said the US should maximize the use of gas instead of exporting it. It wants gas to play a bigger role as a transportation fuel and for power generation, for example, to displace the dependence on petroleum imports and coal.
The group added that Cheniere has overstated the ability of US exports to transform global markets. While the proposed volume of shipments might be significant to domestic consumption, it is just a "drop in the bucket" globally.
"Since international markets are often less liquid, less transparent and less competitive, divided by national boundaries, and natural gas commodity prices are often indexed to crude oil, it is far more likely that exporting natural gas from the United States would tie domestic commodity prices to international fluctuations rather than tame the international market," APGA said.
APGA has 700 members in 36 states.
