DOE Resumes LNG Export Approvals: Commonwealth LNG First Permit, Five Major Facilities Approved by September

Beginning in February 2025, the Department of Energy rapidly approved a series of major LNG export facility permits after Trump’s January 20 “Unleashing American Energy” executive order lifted the Biden administration’s pause on non-FTA export authorizations. The approvals represented a dramatic acceleration of fossil fuel export infrastructure, locking in decades of natural gas extraction and global emissions.

The approval timeline unfolded as follows:

• February 14, 2025: Commonwealth LNG received its conditional non-FTA export permit, the first approval after the pause was lifted. The 9.5 million tonnes per annum facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana received its final authorization on September 2, 2025, with first production expected in 2029.
• March 2025: Venture Global’s CP2 LNG project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana received its conditional non-FTA export authorization from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. By May, CP2 had received its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and FERC authorization.
• March 2025: Golden Pass LNG received a DOE permit extension for its terminal, with first exports expected in 2025-2026 from the first two trains.
• May 29, 2025: Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 (Sempra) received non-FTA export authorization for approximately 13.5 million tonnes per annum.
• Mid-2025: Delfin LNG received additional time to commence exports, authorized to ship the equivalent of up to 657.5 Bcf per year to FTA and non-FTA countries.

The combined authorized export capacity of these five facilities alone exceeded 40 million tonnes per annum – enough to significantly increase global LNG supply and lock in natural gas infrastructure for 30-40 years. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fracking company CEO, oversaw the approvals with explicit instructions from the executive order to consider “economic and employment impacts” and “security of allies and partners” when assessing the public interest – criteria that systematically favored approval over environmental or climate considerations.

Despite the administration’s claims that LNG exports would create jobs and strengthen allies, E&E News reported that the push to spur LNG projects was hitting “harsh economic realities” – global oversupply, weakening demand, and financing difficulties meant several approved projects faced uncertain commercial viability. The approvals served the fossil fuel industry’s long-term infrastructure lock-in strategy regardless of short-term market conditions, ensuring that even if demand shifted, the physical infrastructure would create path dependency favoring continued gas extraction for decades.