US study likely to stop short of saying LNG exports not in public interest, sources say

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration will release as soon as Tuesday a study on exports of liquefied natural gas that is expected to stop short of saying the trade is not in the public interest, two industry sources with knowledge of the issue said.

Biden in January paused the Department of Energy's approvals of U.S. LNG exports to big consumers in Asia and Europe in order for his administration to conduct the study on the environmental and economic impacts of the booming industry.

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President-elect Donald Trump opposed the pause and has said he would move quickly to overturn it. Trump's transition team is working to roll out an energy package within days of his taking office on Jan. 20 to approve export permits for new LNG projects.

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The study is expected to include scenarios that warn about potential price impacts on domestic natural gas and on the environmental impacts of the boom in U.S. LNG exports, the industry sources said on condition of anonymity. A study that does not say the exports are not in the public interest would likely be less useful for environmentalists and others hoping to point to it in any legal actions against LNG projects.

LNG and natural gas producers had slammed Biden's pause as an election-year stunt that undermined the energy security of allies and partners as Europe reduced its dependence on gas from Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

The administration countered that the pause did not affect super-chilled gas exports, which are set to more than double by the end of the decade on already approved shipments. The U.S. became the world's largest LNG shipper in 2023.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Paul Simao)