EU official says Biden pause on US LNG exports will not hit supply short-term

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden’s decision to pause approvals of new exports of liquefied natural gas will have no affect on U.S. supplies to Europe over the next two or three years, a European Commission official said on Tuesday after meeting U.S. officials.

“What was of course very important for me, was reassurance that for the next two or three years there should be no impact whatsoever on the supply of U.S. LNG to Europe,” European Commission Executive Vice President Maros Sefcovic told a meeting at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Russia has been a large oil and gas supplier to Europe, but since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Europe has undergone “one of the most fundamental energy shifts since the 1970s,” Sefcovic said. Europe cut imports of Russian gas from 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) to a bit more than 40 bcm, thanks largely to U.S. LNG supplies.

The U.S. should be able to accommodate big demand from Europe in coming years, Sefcovic said, adding Biden’s order last month contains an emergency clause should supplies in U.S. allies and partners be in danger.

The U.S. took the reins as the world’s largest LNG exporter last year. Its LNG exports are expected to double by 2030 on already-approved projects.

Still, Sefcovic said the U.S. is now the “global guarantor of energy security” and its responsibility goes beyond Europe. Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and Africa need gas supplies to phase out reliance on coal, a high-carbon fuel, he said.

Countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Italy and Germany, are questioning U.S. commitment to long term LNG supply, Alan Armstrong, president and CEO of U.S. natural gas pipeline operator Williams Companies WMB.N, told Reuters at the Williams’ Clean Energy Expo in Washington on Tuesday.

Vietnam, in particular, is struggling to secure LNG due to disagreements over pricing, plant construction delays and lack of supply contracts.

”Big utilities in Japan and Southeast Asia … are running out of their own natural gas supplies, are having to decide if they’re going to shift over to coal or stay on imported natural gas,” Armstrong said.

Sefcovic said he told officials from the White House and Departments of State and Energy it was important how the U.S. government approaches its responsibility for global energy security.

He said Biden’s LNG pause, which could last until after the Nov. 5 election, sent a “ripple effect all over the world.” But that has stabilized recently on the assurances that U.S. supplies on already-approved projects are booming, he said.

U.S. lawmakers who oppose Biden’s pause on approvals are considering legislation that would strip the Energy Department’s power to approve the exports and give it to the independent panel, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday it strongly opposes the legislation as it would undermine the ability of the U.S. to ensure that export of LNG is “consistent with our economic, energy security, foreign policy, and environmental interests.”

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Laura SanicolaEditing by Marguerita Choy)