US DOE Allows Dominion Cove Point LNG to Export to Non FTA Countries

The US Energy Department last week announced that it has issued a final authorization for Dominion Cove Point LNG to export domestically produced LNG to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The Cove Point LNG terminal in Calvert County, Maryland is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 0.77 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas for a period of 20 years, Energy Dept. said in a press note published last Thursday.

Dominion Cove Point has contracts to export LNG to Japan and India, both of which are non-FTA countries.

Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the United States. For countries that do not have an FTA with the United States, the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorizations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.”