The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday granted Sempra Energy final approval to export liquefied natural gas to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States.

The department’s authorization comes seven months after it granted Sempra’s non-FTA license conditionally. DOE’s license will allow Sempra to export LNG from its plant in Hackberry to countries such as Japan, India, Taiwan and the European nations.

Octavio Simoes, president of Sempra LNG, was out of the country on business Wednesday, but sent a statement to the American Press saying the department’s decision will help the U.S. deliver an important natural resource to its allies abroad.

“The natural gas that will be produced by Cameron LNG represents a stable source of competitively priced energy supply that will help our allied countries like Japan and other European nations in need,” Simoes said.

DOE’s approval ends Sempra’s three-year quest to obtain all of the federal permits and licenses needed for expansion and export. Sempra will expand Cameron LNG with three new trains capable of producing up to 12 million metric tons of LNG per year for export. The project is expected to cost about $10 billion.

Sempra received DOE’s FTA license in January 2012. In June, the company received its construction permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which allowed for construction to begin on Cameron LNG’s expansion.

One of DOE’s conditions for granting Sempra its non-FTA export license was FERC’s approval of Cameron LNG’s expansion. In August, the DOE announced it would no longer grant conditional approvals for its FTA and non-FTA export licenses. The department will now only grant final approval for the licenses after FERC approves the project.

DOE spokesman Bill Gibbons said the department’s recent change was “a timing issue.” He said LNG companies still need to go through the FERC permitting process and show compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

The department’s announcement brought responses from many of Louisiana’s lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said the Energy Department made the right decision in streamlining its export licensing process. “As more and more information comes in, the world is in great need of a cleaner-burning fuel, which is what natural gas offers,” she said.

Landrieu, who heads the Senate Energy Committee, said the United States’ ability to export natural gas globally sends an important message to Russia, another country that is looking worldwide for natural gas customers.

“One of the most important actions we can take to show Russia that they can’t just ignore international norms and boundaries is to give Europe and the Eastern Block countries access to something other than Russian natural gas,” she said. “While it will take some time, it’s never too late to send that signal.”

Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said the United States can use its natural resources like natural gas to further its foreign policy goals. Cassidy, who sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said the Obama administration has been “very slow to do that.”

“It’s always been my fear and observation that the Obama administration and those that help it are more interested in saving the world from carbon than saving the American family and the world from dictators,” Cassidy said. “We don’t need to send troops to anywhere in the world if we undermine the petro-economies that are using proceeds from selling oil and gas to other countries to finance their attacks against us.”

Cassidy, who is challenging Landrieu for her Senate seat, said a main reason for permitting delays is bureaucratic red tape. He said DOE officials invite groups like the Sierra Club to participate in the approval process, which, he added, only delays export permits from being granted.

“You can tie these projects up in litigation and red tape so the company decides not to do it; they just don’t want to fight it,” Cassidy said. “Other countries are moving forward and we’re celebrating that we got two or three (permits) done. We should have seven done.”

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Washington could have a more “efficient one-stop process” in granting its permits to companies like Sempra.

“I think given the importance of this (industry) to our economy, that would be a big improvement,” he said. “It’s just typical Washington bureaucracy; it’s far too cumbersome and complicated and it’s involved multiple, major agencies. I know there’s got to be a better way to streamline that.”

Preparatory site work is underway at Cameron LNG, as construction is expected to begin this fall. The plant’s new trains will take about four years to build, creating about 3,000 construction jobs during peak times. When complete, the plant’s expansion will also create 140 permanent positions.Cameron LNG Plant

Photo courtesy of Sempra LNG