US Working to Increase LNG Exports, Counter Russia Sanctions Misinformation, Official Says

The U.S. is stepping up efforts to boost liquefied natural gas exports to Europe as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, Jose Fernandez, a senior State Department official, said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week. He said he recently met with several European countries that are asking to buy more U.S. LNG.

He said U.S. oil production this year and next will “exceed records” set in 2019, adding that the U.S. is currently the largest LNG supplier to Europe. “We will do all we can to try and wean Europe from Russian oil and gas,” Fernandez, undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, said. “We have to continue to expand exports not just from the U.S., but from other allies and partners.”

Fernandez’s comments came one day after the Energy Department announced a notice of sale of up to 20 million additional barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address “the significant market supply disruption” caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Fernandez also said American oil and gas producers have “stepped up to the plate to help Europe.”

“I have met with a number of European countries that are looking to expand their imports of U.S. LNG,” he said. “We're working as well on infrastructure in Europe to try and build the kinds of facilities that will accept LNG exports.”

But the U.S. also has run into issues trying to export LNG to Europe. A senior National Security Council official said earlier this year the American LNG export infrastructure was “running at max capacity” and struggling with an infrastructure limitation (see 2204260060).

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said part of the issue is the Biden administration delaying certain permits for “finding, using, exploring, transporting, consolidating and then shipping” LNG overseas. “It seems we have infrastructure restraints at home [caused] by the administration,” Barrasso said.

Fernandez said the U.S. will try to increase its exports. “We are right now the largest LNG exporter in the world. We have tripled -- just this year -- tripled our exports to Europe,” Fernandez said. “But I am sure we could do better on our infrastructure.”

Fernandez said the State Department is also focused on countering Russian claims that U.S. sanctions are hindering energy and other critical goods, such as food supplies, from getting to European countries. “We’re focusing on that misinformation and getting out the message that our sanctions expressly carve out oil and gas exports, expressly do not affect food, do not affect fertilizers,” Fernandez said.

But he said the effort -- specifically countering false claims about U.S. sanctions -- has been challenging. “Frankly, the Russians and [China] are good at this,” Fernandez said. “We’ve got to up our game.”