The US should remove the national interest demonstration requirement for LNG exports to countries with which it does not have a free-trade agreement before it loses one of its biggest energy and economic opportunities in its history, an ExxonMobil Corp. executive said. The requirement, which originally was imposed as part of the 1938 Natural Gas Act, is more than an archaic relic that does not recognize the dramatically improved US oil and gas outlook, ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Co. Pres. Rob Franklin said. It also flies in the face of the country’s free-trade heritage and potentially could lead to international legal actions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Franklin said during an Apr. 20 address at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies. Asked which Washington policymakers specifically need to act on this, Franklin said, “The responsibility lies with Congress, although […]