Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond was among nearly two dozen other Attorneys General in telling President Biden his freeze on development and export of LNG “will embolden Iran and Russia” and also hamper the U.S. ability to protect itself.
Drummond also maintained the Energy Department did not have the authority to prevent LNG exports to Europe and other couontries.
In a letter to President Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy, Drummond and 22 attorneys general said the pause is unlawful, damaging to the economy and harmful to national security.
“The United States is the largest producer of LNG. If the market for American LNG evaporates, consumers will be forced to turn to other suppliers—namely, Russia, Iran, and China—the next largest producers of LNG,” the letter states. “At best, these countries do not share our interests or values; at worst, they actively seek to harm us and our allies.”
Drummond said the Department of Energy lacks the authority to issue blanket denials for export permits without an act of Congress, and that the Department of Energy did not allow anyone the chance to weigh in on the regulatory change.
“Our national security should be the president’s top priority,” Drummond said. “Rather than looking out for our best interests and addressing our real energy challenges, the Biden administration is continuing to advance its wrongheaded environmental agenda.”
In the letter, the attorneys general urge Biden to immediately end the temporary pause on LNG exports.
In addition to Oklahoma, the letter, led by Kansas, Indiana, Louisiana and West Virginia, was signed by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Read the letter here.
