PORT SULPHUR, La. (AP) — The planned expansion of a massive liquefied natural gas facility in southeast Louisiana is a beacon for a U.S. energy policy that doubles down on oil and gas exports under President Donald Trump, two members of his Cabinet told a crowd of cheering workers Thursday.
“The prior administration had a full-on attack against U.S. energy,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told workers at petrochemical firm Venture Global’s liquefied natural gas facility in Port Sulphur. Venture Global plans an $18 billion expansion in the area for exporting LNG to Europe and Asia. “President Trump is fighting for you every day and he’s fighting because he believes that we have U.S. energy dominance."
Burgum stood alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The two head a new National Energy Dominance Council focused on spurring U.S. oil and gas production and reversing checks on fossil fuels adopted during President Joe Biden's administration.
Wright, a fossil fuel executive who has been a vocal critic against efforts to fight climate change, told the assembled workers he planned to advance Trump’s agenda to “unleash American energy, unleash American business and unleash the American spirit.”
The pair pooh-poohed former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's warning that “unfettered exports” of liquefied natural gas could drive up domestic wholesale prices and increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions — a statement reflecting the findings of a Department of Energy report released in December. Granholm served under Biden.
“We can absolutely do both — we can sell energy to our friends and allies, we can lower the cost at home,” Burgum told reporters.
Last year, the Biden administration sought to pause approval of new LNG exports. Trump's administration has vowed to green-light more exports, already granting conditional export authorization for another huge LNG facility in southwest Louisiana.
Venture Global, which went public in January, saw its stock price tank by more than a third on Thursday after disclosing falling revenue due to a decline in LNG exports. CEO Michael Sabel said he was confident the company would rebound as it attempts to rapidly expand.
In southwest Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, Venture Global is seeking approval to build an LNG export terminal adjacent to its huge existing facility that would be capable of exporting 20 million tons (18 million metric tons) annually. The new facility would also eventually generate as much as 8.5 million tons (7.7 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions, according to its air quality permit application currently under review by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.