Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress makes the following findings: The United States currently has an approximately 100-year supply of natural gas in proven reserves. The Department of Energy projects global consumption of natural gas to increase through at least 2050, driven primarily by demand growth in Asia. United States natural gas production increased by 91 percent from 2005 to 2021. At the same time, United States energy-related carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 18 percent. The growth in domestic natural gas production has resulted in a change from the United States importing a net 566,000,000,000 cubic feet of liquified natural gas in 2005, to exporting a net 3,539,000,000 cubic feet in 2021.

During that period, crude oil production in the United States more than doubled. As a result of the revolution in oil and gas production technologies, the United States petroleum trade went from its peak net import volume of 12,549 barrels per day in 2005, to a net export of 62,000 barrels per day in 2021. At Brent crude prices, in nominal dollars, this reflects a trade deficit of about $250,000,000,000 in 2005, changing to a surplus of about $1,600,000,000 in 2021. Demand for natural gas is rising in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly as countries look to make emissions reductions and transition from higher emissions fuel sources.

According to the International Energy Agency, The number of countries and territories with [liquefied natural gas] import terminals has grown from nine in 2000, to 42 in 2020. . Further, the International Energy Agency has found that transition[s] in Asian gas markets [are] even more important in the wider context of global clean energy transitions, where natural gas will be required to make a more flexible contribution . Australia and the United States are both important global energy exporters and thus have a shared interest in supplying the growing energy demand in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japanese companies have long invested in United States liquefied natural gas projects and the Government of Japan has shifted from relying on liquefied natural gas from the Middle East to liquefied natural gas from the United States. The People’s Republic of China currently is one of the largest financiers of overseas energy- and greenhouse gas-intensive projects and the expanding number of infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region, carried out under the People’s Republic of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is leading to higher emissions, coercive dependence, and environmental degradation in the region.

European Union demand for liquefied natural gas is expected to rise from about 72,000,000 tons per year in 2021, to more than 110,000,000 tons per year until at least 2030. United States-produced oil and natural gas has one of the lowest lifecycle emissions profiles in the world. A 2019 analysis by the Department of Energy found that natural gas pipelined from the Russian Federation to Europe’s electricity sector has 41 percent higher lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than United States liquefied natural gas shipped to Europe.

The World Bank estimates that the flaring intensity of United States oil and gas production in 2021 was 69 percent lower than in the Russian Federation. Between 2009 and 2019, use of United States natural gas as a feedstock for hydrogen production increased from 143,004,000 cubic feet to 199,050,000 cubic feet, or a 39.2 percent increase. According to the Department of Energy, 95 percent of the hydrogen produced in the United States is made by natural gas reforming in large central plants.

That is an important technology pathway for near-term hydrogen production and reducing global emissions.