The U.S. Energy Department has finalized a plan to revamp its process for approving liquefied natural gas exports, and as originally proposed the changes eliminate conditional approvals for LNG projects. Beginning Thursday, the department will only issue final rulings on whether exports are in the public interest after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or another authorized agency, has completed an environmental review of the project. The move will likely shift focus from the Energy Department, which has been criticized for moving too slowly, to the more costly FERC process, which assesses the safety and environmental impacts of LNG export facilities. Making an export application with the DOE costs about $20,000 but companies pay up to $100 million to complete the FERC process, an investment that separates serious projects from those without the financial backing to actually construct what are often multibillion-dollar facilities. The new […]