With American consumers and businesses depending on affordable and reliable natural gas to power their companies and heat their homes, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined a group of 22 senators calling on President Obama to take steps to ensure the price of domestic natural gas is not impacted by increased exports.
With nearly 70 percent of global liquefied natural gas being shipped to Asian counties where natural gas prices are three to four times higher than domestic prices, the growth of American manufacturing and affordable home heating supplies could be drastically impacted if large-scale exports continue to rapidly increase.
“As our economy continues its recovery and American manufacturing continues its steady growth, natural gas prices must remain stable and affordable to help power our factories and heat our homes,” Brown said. “By exporting large amount of domestic natural gas to countries like China that do not practice fair trade policies, we put our manufacturers, small businesses, and families at risk of paying increased prices. That is why I am urging the Obama Administration to use more discretion when approving new export facilities, especially with countries that undermine our economic growth.”
As noted in the letter, the Department of Energy recently approved a sixth export facility for liquefied natural gas. With this new approval, the volume of American natural gas exports will exceed domestic use. According to its own study in 2012, if the DOE continues to approve export facilities at this rapid a pace, the domestic price of natural gas could increase by up to 54 percent.
Since 2008 the American economy has benefited from an increase in the supply of natural gas. American manufacturers have added more than 600,000 jobs, creating a renaissance in domestic production. This increase is fueled by the availability of affordable, reliable supplies. According to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, five million additional manufacturing jobs could be created by 2020 if natural gas prices remain near current levels. This growth however could be jeopardized if the price of natural gas is drastically increased due to high export demands.
In February, Brown called on President Obama to use executive authorities, provided by law, to help mitigate the impact in the shortage of propane. The shortage of both natural gas and propane led to increased prices and drastically reduced national inventories. Currently, the national supply of natural gas is 55 percent below the five-year average and at the peak of winter heating season the U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA) stated that national propane reserves bottomed out near their lowest point in more than five years. These types of unforeseen demand place families and small business feeling the sting of high energy bills.
