Gas in the Tank: Securing the West’s Energy Supply (S. 2592)

What is S. 2592?

(Updated July 13, 2017)

This bill expedites the production and exportation of domestic natural gas. While removing some restrictions, S. 2592 would also tighten regulations by prohibiting the exportation of natural gas to countries that are under Federal sanctions.

Under this bill, the Secretary of the Interior would be required to develop a number of ways to increase the domestic production of natural gas by:

• Coordinating a study that identifies ways to accelerate the permit process for Federal natural gas and crude oil extraction and transportation.
• Giving Congress regular reports on the progress of securing permits for crude oil extraction and well operations.
• Granting or denying drilling permits within 30 days of receiving applications. If a decision isn’t made within 60 days, the application would be considered approved.
• Establishing a Federal Permit Streamlining Project officer in every field office operated by the Bureau of Land Management. These officials would be in charge of releasing permits for all energy projects on Federal land.
• Allowing onshore lease sales to be managed through Internet auctions.

The bill also recognizes that exporting natural gas to Ukraine and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Japan is essential to national security.

Argument in favor

Strengthens the U.S. natural gas industry by stripping away bureaucratic red tape.

Argument opposed

Cuts down necessary regulations on an already highly unregulated industry.

Impact

Natural gas companies, the Bureau of Land Management, the Secretary of Interior, NATO allies, Japan, all countries currently under U.S. sanctions.

Cost of S. 2592

The CBO doesn’t have a cost estimate for this bill at this time.

Additional Info

In Depth:

America’s domestic energy boom is coinciding with Ukraine’s political crisis, which has threatened the energy security for European countries that depend heavily on Russia for natural gas.

Sponsoring Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) noted that the bill is designed to simultaneously strengthen the infrastructure of America’s domestic energy industry while freeing up bureaucratic restrictions to more easily supply our allies:

“We’re producing more than 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in our country, but use only 26 trillion. That means we can not only produce more energy than we use in the United States to create jobs, reduce flaring and decrease our dependence on Middle Eastern oil, but also produce enough energy to help our allies, including countries like Ukraine, avert conflicts over energy with hostile neighbors.”

Media:

Sponsoring Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) Press Release

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