US Smoothes LNG Export Reporting Requirements

The US Department of Energy (DoE) said December 19 it will require LNG exporters to only report the country or countries of their LNG deliveries, not country of end-use.

And it will also move forward with other initiatives to streamline the reporting requirements for LNG export supply sales and contracts.

“With the US now being the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas, it is imperative that US LNG companies have all the tools they need to get their American product into the international market,” US energy secretary Rick Perry said. “By streamlining the destination reporting requirements, the Department of Energy is taking an important deregulatory step forward in order to better provide reliable US LNG to our friends and allies abroad.”

Currently, the DoE requires some LNG export authorisation holders to report the final country of end-use of their LNG exports, which can differ from the country receiving the initial physical delivery of LNG.

Given the complexity of some LNG export transactions, and the challenges associated with tracking LNG exports all the way to their point of end-use, the DoE has determined that reporting the country or countries of LNG deliveries (not country of end-use) will satisfy its destination reporting requirement. LNG exporters, however, will still be required to continue the current ban on exports to sanctioned countries.

Additionally, the DoE is seeking to clarify which types of supply and sales contract agreements need to be reported, and when they must be filed. Under existing regulations, all long-term (greater than two years) supply and sales contracts must be reported, but the department would like to clarify the interpretation of exactly what types of contracts and sales agreements must be reported.

Its proposed interpretative rule, available here, will be open for comment until January 18, 2019.