Silt, which is increasingly filling US waterways and ports, potentially could limit US LNG exports if it is not dredged soon, a top US Department of Energy official warned. Sedimentary deposits in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Ship Channel, “where many LNG exports would be moving,” could reach a point where tankers moving in different directions won’t be able to pass each other, said Melanie Kenderdine, who directs DOE’s Energy Policy and Systems Analysis Office. “These, by and large, are federal responsibilities,” Kenderdine noted during a presentation on the Quadrennial Energy Review and energy security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That makes funding projects difficult under sequestration and budget caps.” The problem should be addressed because DOE has approved LNG projects totaling 9.9 bcfd of export capacity, Kenderdine said. “If all of that gets built, it would bring us close to Qatar, which is the world’s largest LNG exporter […]