Expire Act of 2014 -- Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are here today to discuss the energy efficiency bill and what may or may not be the status on any given amendments. I want to take a few minutes this afternoon to speak about the issue of liquefied natural gas exports.

Senator Barrasso has proposed a bill that would provide for fast-track status for DOE licensing to LNG projects to export to members of WTO countries.

As we focus on our opportunities that we have when it comes to our natural gas, our LNG, and the opportunities for Federal support for energy projects overseas, I think it is important to recognize there is a little inconsistency going on with this administration slow-walking infrastructure and hydrocarbon development in this country. I will give a couple of examples. The Export-Import Bank has supported a slew of LNG-related transactions over the past couple of decades. These are structured and project-financed transactions, these are loan guarantees, and some are even direct loans. With the assistance of the Ex-Im Bank and my committee staff, the Congressional Research Service has compiled a report on this subject which I would like to reference at this time.

I emphasize that this is a list for LNG-related projects only.

if not exhaustive of the other kinds of energy-related infrastructure that the Federal Government finances overseas.

So what we have here are projects that are LNG-related transactions that have been moved through the Export-Import Bank.

Over $350 million in loan guarantees for equipment and services went to Trinidad and Tobago in 1996. In 1997, we saw over $775 million in loan guarantees go to Qatar and Oman for engineering and management services, for cryogenic heat exchanges, for compressors, and for gas turbine drives. In 2000 there was a loan guarantee of over $70 million that went to Malaysia. In 2002 there was a $135 million loan guarantee for equipment and services for Nigeria. Then between 2005 and 2006 we had over $800 million in loan guarantees for liquefaction and facilities-related engineering services to Qatar. In 2008 there was a $400 million direct loan for equipment and services to Peru; then in 2010 $3 billion in direct loan and loan guarantees for equipment and services to Papua New Guinea.

In 2012 there was nearly $3 billion in direct loans for engineering services to Australia. There was a large project that included the liquefaction plant, a shipping terminal, and transmission lines. Then just last year there was another $1.8 billion in direct loans to Australia for facilities construction.

There have been over a dozen projects, eight countries, and $10 billion in financing.

I think it is important to recognize that the Export-Import Bank is one of the few agencies in the Federal Government that actually turns a profit, and my objective in listing these projects is not to oppose the financing--that is not what we are talking about--but, rather, to point out the inconsistency that we have in some policies. Simply put, we are financing LNG export projects overseas because they are a good idea. We like that approach. But we are politicizing the project for their review here at home.

If LNG projects can create wealth and can support jobs in Australia and in Qatar, they can and will do the same here in the United States of America.

But this administration is stalling on other infrastructure and development initiatives, not just LNG export facilities. We have the Keystone XL Pipeline. It is a great example. Offshore development is yet another example.

Another Federal agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has supported oil and gas projects in other countries.

I also reference for my colleagues this afternoon another CRS report that was commissioned by my committee staff. So OPIC--this is not OPEC but OPIC--has provided insurance and financing to companies operating in Indonesia, Guatemala, Egypt, and Botswana. The bigger list includes, back in 2002, $25 million of insurance for a liquefied petroleum gas storage facility in Guatemala. In 2005, we had a $2.5 million insurance for a natural gas pipeline in Benin; $2.5 million in insurance for a gas pipeline in Togo; $45 million in insurance for another pipeline in Ghana; $320 million in insurance for an offshore natural gas pipeline in Israel.

Again, I am not saying that financing this is a wrong idea or a bad idea; I am asking the simple question: If this is good enough for helping other countries, why are we not doing it here at home?

There is a third Federal agency I wish to briefly mention that has supported energy-related projects overseas. This is the Trade and Development Agency. It funds feasibility studies, pilot projects, technical assistance, reverse trade missions, and various training activities. I reference for my colleagues a third CRS report, again commissioned by my committee staff, that showcases some of these activities.

Specifically, on LNG, the Trade and Development Agency funded feasibility studies for: LNG import and power generation in Thailand back in 2004, CNG/LNG distribution in Indonesia in 2005, import terminals in Lithuania and Romania in 2008, floating LNG storage and regasification in Ghana in 2011, and reverse trade missions to Turkey in 2005 and South Africa in 2008 on LNG-related issues.

The Trade and Development Agency has also funded energy-related technical related assistance to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, India, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Nigeria. They have funded reverse trade missions with Cambodia, Vietnam, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, and Hungary.

Again, helping other countries to develop their energy resources while helping American companies find opportunities to generate jobs here in the United States is a worthwhile policy as well. It is a worthwhile policy abroad and a worthwhile policy at home.

I know my colleague from South Dakota wants to say a few words this afternoon.

I yield the floor, and I thank my colleagues for their attention.

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