(Reuters) - The U.S. shale gas boom should be used to counteract Russian influence in Europe and on Ukraine, a key senator said on Tuesday, as lawmakers weighed changes to export policy to take into account a shifting geopolitical landscape. European worries about the security of energy supplies have skyrocketed since Russian forces seized control of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine this month. Moscow has in years past cut gas supplies during regional disputes. The Ukrainian crisis has led to intense scrutiny of export rules for U.S. liquefied natural gas. The regulations require the Department of Energy to grant permission for natural gas exports to all but a handful of countries, such as Canada, which have free trade agreements with the United States. Hearings before the Senate and House energy committees on Tuesday focused on whether speeding up the Obama administrations review of two dozen pending export applications could help U.S. allies reduce their dependence on Russia for natural gas. The export projects, once approved, would take several years to construct and actually ship gas. The last thing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his cronies want is competition from the United States of America in the energy race, Senate Energy Committee Chairwoman Mary Landrieu said at a hearing on Tuesday. reuters/article/2014/03/25/us-usa-lng-congress-idUSBREA2O08Z20140325
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:02:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015