Judge blocks Biden's LNG export pause Rio Grande LNG

Judge blocks Biden’s pause on LNG export permits

USA

BATON ROUGE, July 3, 2024 – A federal judge has blocked US President Joe Biden’s pause of LNG export permitting, international media reported on Tuesday.

The moratorium, in place since January, prompted 16 states to file a lawsuit arguing that the president had violated federal law.

The pause was mandated by President Biden in order to assess the climate change impact of US LNG exports.

A preliminary injunction against the moratorium was issued by a US district court judge in Louisiana on Monday. Louisiana’s attorney general, Liz Murrill, said that USD 61 billion in pending infrastructure in her state had been put at risk by the moratorium.

The move was hailed by West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey, who called it “a big win for the country’s energy industry.”

For its part, the US Department of Energy issued a statement saying that it disagreed with the judge’s ruling and was assessing its next steps.

Photo of the USA’s Rio Grande LNG terminal courtesy of Rio Grande LNG.