A new report from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) finds that the Biden administration’s pause on permitting liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals has the potential to jeopardize 900,000 jobs.
LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state, typically around -260°F. This process reduces its volume by about 600 times, making it easier to transport and store.
LNG is primarily composed of methane (CH₄) but can also contain small amounts of other hydrocarbons. It is transported in specialized cryogenic tankers and can be re-gasified at its destination for use in electricity generation, heating, and as a fuel for vehicles.
The liquefaction process helps to facilitate international trade in natural gas, allowing countries with abundant natural gas resources like the United States to export it to regions where it is in high demand.
The report, prepared for NAM by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), finds American LNG exports supported, directly or indirectly, approximately 222,000 jobs in 2023, producing more than $23 billion in labor income, $43 billion in GDP, and $11 billion in federal, state, and municipal tax revenue. By 2044, PwC projects LNG will support 516,000 to 900,000 jobs and produce $59 billion to $103 billion in labor income. PwC also projects LNG will contribute $122 billion to $215 billion in GDP by 2044, as well as $26 billion to $47 billion in tax revenue.
“With an all-of-the-above energy strategy, we don’t have to choose between national security, economic growth, and environmental protection — they go hand in hand,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons told FOX Business in an exclusive statement. “Today’s research highlights the massive potential we unlock when we embrace American energy production.”
However, in January, the Biden administration announced a temporary pause in permitting approval for new LNG export terminals to countries without a free trade agreement with the United States, arguing the “current economic and environmental analyses [the U.S. Department of Energy] uses to underpin its LNG export authorizations are roughly five years old and no longer adequately account for considerations like potential energy cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers beyond current authorizations or the latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Almost 90 percent of all U.S. LNG exports went to non-free trade agreement countries in 2023.
Further, the Biden administration argues in its statement, “we have an evolving understanding of the market need for LNG, the long-term supply of LNG, and the perilous impacts of methane on our planet. We also must adequately guard against risks to the health of our communities, especially frontline communities in the United States who disproportionately shoulder the burden of pollution from new export facilities.”
According to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, onshore methane emissions in the United States have fallen 37 percent from 2013 ato 2022. Significant credit for that goes to the oil and gas industries for the innovations they have voluntarily undertaken to make drill sites as safe as possible and the best practices they have implemented.
A federal court placed an injunction on the permitting pause in July, after a suit was brought against the Biden administration by a coalition of 16 states.
“Our new research makes clear that clamping down on LNG exports jeopardizes jobs and economic growth. It also forces other nations to rely on dirtier alternatives from adversarial nations like Russia, which exacerbates national security risks,” Timmons noted. “By expanding LNG export facilities, increasing natural gas production, and supporting clean energy initiatives, we can power manufacturing, improve the quality of life, boost our security and reduce emissions across the globe.”
The oil and natural gas deposits located throughout the United States are abundant, affordable, and environmentally safe, and the United States is the largest producer and exporter of LNG in the world. Moreover, these deposits can ensure the United States is the world’s largest energy producer and exporter well beyond the 21st century. As Timmons points out, the production and exportation of LNG is critical for American domestic energy security and the U.S. economy as a whole. Therefore, policymakers at all levels should refrain from placing unnecessary burdens on the natural gas and oil industries and their ability to transport their product overseas.
The following documents provide more information about fossil fuels.
Debunking Four Persistent Myths about Hydraulic Fracturing
https://heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Oct-23-FrackingMyths.pdf
This Heartland Institute Policy Brief by Policy Analyst Timothy Benson and former Heartland communications intern Linnea Lueken outlines the basic elements of the fracking process and then refutes the four most widespread fracking myths, providing lawmakers and the public with the research and data they need to make informed decisions about hydraulic fracturing.
Impacts of the Natural Gas and Oil Industry on the U.S. Economy in 2019
https://www.api.org/-/media/Files/Policy/American-Energy/PwC/API-PWC-Economic-Impact-Report.pdf
This study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, shows that the natural gas and oil industry supported 11.3 million U.S. jobs in 2019, produced $892 billion in labor income, and had a nationwide economic impact of nearly $1.7 trillion The study also shows the natural gas and oil industry has had widespread impacts in each of the 50 states.
America’s Progress at Risk: An Economic Analysis of a Ban on Fracking and Federal Leasing for Natural Gas and Oil Development
https://www.api.org/~/media/Files/Oil-and-Natural-Gas/Hydraulic-Fracturing/2020/fracking-ban-study-americas-progress-at-risk.pdf
The study from the American Petroleum Institute (conducted by economic modeling firm OnLocation) warns that banning federal leasing and fracking on public and private lands, which some presidential candidates have proposed, would cost up to 7.5 million American jobs in 2022 alone, lead to a cumulative GDP loss of $7.1 trillion by 2030, slash household incomes by $5,400 annually, increase household energy costs by more than $600 per year and reduce farm incomes by 43 percent due to higher energy costs. If a ban is enacted, the U.S. would flip from being a net exporter of oil and petroleum products to importing more than 40 percent of supplies by 2030
What If…Hydraulic Fracturing Were Banned? (2020 Edition)
https://www.globalenergyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/hf_ban_report_final.pdf
This study from the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says a ban on fracking in the United States would be catastrophic for our economy. Their analysis shows that if such a ban were imposed in 2021, by 2025 it would eliminate 19 million jobs and reduce U.S. Gross Domestic Product by $7.1 trillion. Tax revenue at the local, state, and federal levels would decline by nearly a combined $1.9 trillion. Natural gas prices would leap by 324 percent, causing household energy bills to more than quadruple. By 2025, motorists would pay twice as much at the pump for gasoline as oil prices spike to $130 per barrel, while less domestic energy production would also mean less energy security.
The U.S. Leads the World in Clean Air: The Case for Environmental Optimism
https://files.texaspolicy.com/uploads/2018/11/27165514/2018-11-RR-US-Leads-the-World-in-Clean-Air-ACEE-White.pdf
This paper from the Texas Public Policy Foundation examines how the United States achieved robust economic growth while dramatically reducing emissions of air pollutants. The paper states that these achievements should be celebrated as a public policy success story, but instead the prevailing narrative among political and environmental leaders is one of environmental decline that can only be reversed with a more stringent regulatory approach. Instead, the paper urges for the data to be considered and applied to the narrative.
Nothing in this Research & Commentary is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of The Heartland Institute. For further information on this subject, visit Environment & Climate News, The Heartland Institute’s website, and PolicyBot, Heartland’s free online research database.
The Heartland Institute can send an expert to your state to testify or brief your caucus; host an event in your state; or send you further information on a topic. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance! If you have any questions or comments, contact Heartland’s Government Relations department, at [email protected] or 312/377-4000
Tim Benson joined The Heartland Institute in September 2015 as a policy analyst in the Government Relations Department.
