Energy Department Ends Biden-Era LNG Export Pause

The department says increased LNG exports benefit economy, allies, and national security.

A model LNG tanker is seen in front of a U.S. flag in this illustration, taken May 19, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

The Trump administration has announced it will end a Biden-era pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals, saying increased exports are in the public interest by boosting the economy and supporting allies, while posing minimal environmental risks.

In a May 19 press release, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it will begin issuing final decisions on a backlog of applications to export LNG to countries without free trade agreements with the United States.

The move follows the release of the DOE’s formal response to public comments on a December 2024 study on the economic, environmental, and geopolitical impacts of increased LNG exports. The response downplays the agency’s concerns under President Joe Biden about climate and price impacts, concluding instead that expanded exports serve the national interest and must be weighed by the relevant authorities against any environmental and health impacts.

“President Trump was given a mandate to unleash American energy dominance, and that includes U.S. LNG exports,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “The facts are clear: expanding America’s LNG exports is good for Americans and good for the world. Today, the Department of Energy is following the facts, closing the door on the Biden administration’s failed policies, and putting America’s energy future on stronger footing.”

The Biden-era study found that “unfettered” exports would raise natural gas prices by some 30 percent for American consumers and impede other policy efforts to address projected environmental impacts by sharply increasing global greenhouse gas emissions and displacing renewables. The study’s conclusions were praised by environmental groups but criticized by the fossil fuel industry and the business community, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce accusing the Biden-era DOE of distortion to justify prolonging the export freeze.

The DOE’s latest response, however, takes a different view from the 2024 study. It concludes that the United States has an ample natural gas supply to meet both domestic demand and expanded global market needs, even under high-export scenarios. Increased LNG exports will generate substantial economic benefits, including a projected $410 billion boost to U.S. gross domestic product by 2050, and will strengthen the country’s trade balance, the agency found.

As for price impacts on domestic consumers, the DOE’s latest response notes that these are likely to be modest and fall within historically observed ranges, with no consistent link between export volumes and rising gas prices.

On climate concerns, the DOE now says that tripling current LNG exports would raise global greenhouse gas emissions by no more than 0.1 percent through 2050—an amount so small and uncertain, it says, that it cannot be considered a meaningful basis for rejecting export permits. The report also emphasizes the national security advantages of LNG, citing the flexibility of U.S. contracts and the strategic value of supplying allies with reliable energy.

The department also made clear that “environmental justice” will no longer be part of its public interest evaluations for export decisions, with the updated position reflecting executive orders issued by President Donald Trump and reversing the prior administration’s policy of considering “equity” and other social factors in environmental impact assessments. The DOE said those concerns fall under the jurisdiction of other federal, state, and local agencies, and should not be addressed through the blunt tool of export permit decisions.

The DOE’s response to the Biden-era study also stated that increased LNG exports would mostly displace other fossil fuels and have a limited impact on renewables, concluding that market forces are generally the best guide to exports and that the agency “believes that increasing U.S. energy production and exports can only enhance the nation’s geopolitical influence and promote U.S. interests.”

Environmental group Sierra Club criticized the DOE’s position, saying that “Big Oil and Gas CEOs are the only beneficiaries of a rubberstamp for LNG projects.”

“LNG exports raise costs to Americans’ energy bills, are disastrous for frontline communities, increase public health harms, and perpetuate the climate crisis,” Sierra Club Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Director Mahyar Sorour said in a statement.

The DOE’s decision to end the Biden-era freeze on LNG export permits fulfills one of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign pledges to lift the moratorium as part of a strategy to boost domestic energy production to bring down consumer prices and boost national security.

Trump, on his recent visit to the Gulf states, explicitly promoted increasing U.S. LNG exports to Gulf states that already import U.S. gas like Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as for Saudi Arabia to consider long-term deals to import U.S. LNG, as America looks to compete with Qatar’s growing dominance in regional and global LNG supply, as well as bring down energy prices.

During the visit, a $8.5 billion deal was announced between Qatar Energy and American engineering company McDermott for seven active infrastructure projects servicing Qatar’s expansion of its North Field LNG reserves.