ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate Change, Andrew Holland, wrote an article for The Christian Science Monitor on the prospects for LNG exports from the U.S.  Currently, the Department of Energy has only issued one permit for natural gas exports, but, according to Holland, the Obama administration will likely issue more in the coming years. With natural gas fetching high prices in Asia, the administration will likely see an export opportunity. From the article:

Some stock analysts have said that Cheniere is a clear buy after Obama’s election because his administration is now likely to slow or stop the process for issuing permits on exports of natural gas. As the sole current holder of a permit to export, the company would be in the driver’s seat to earn outsized profits from exports.

But that view ignores the fact that this administration has been remarkably pro-gas since the very beginning of the shale gas boom. The State Department has been busy trying to promote fracking and horizontal drilling technology abroad, while the Department of Interior and the White House have taken credit for the shale boom.

In fact, the proposed federal regulations on fracking are a case of the government trying to protect the industry from itself. If a major environmental case turned against fracking, there is a possibility that new, heavy-handed regulation could kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs. In my view, this administration wants to protect the goose; the permits will be issued.

To read the full article, click here.