Obama Administration Approves Pipeline Expansion Set to Feed First Ever Fracked Gas LNG Export Terminal

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The Obama Administration hasย quietly approved expansion of a major pipelineย carrying fracked gas destined for the global exportย market.

Theย Gulf Traceย pipeline, owned by The Williams Companies,ย is set to feed into Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNGย export terminal in Louisiana. As first reported by Reuters, LNG tankers loaded with super-chilledย liquefied natural gas obtained via hydraulic fracturing (โ€œfrackingโ€) will set sail for the first time from Sabine Pass in Januaryย 2016.

In a statement, Williams said it had received approval for Gulf Trace from theย U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and had set a date of the first quarter of 2017 for the project to be in service. ย The statement said Gulf Trace was part of $5.1 billion worth of transmission projects targeting the easternย U.S.ย 

Gulf Trace will feedย gas obtained from fracking in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale basin to Sabineย Pass.ย 

Pipeline company giant Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)ย recently purchased Williams Companies for $32.6 billion.ย ETP โ€” whose assets include both hotly-contested proposed Dakota Access LLC pipeline and the Trans-Pecos Pipelineย โ€” is run by CEO Kelcy Warren, who served as an advisory committee member and donor to former Republican Party presidential candidate Rick Perry. Perry sits on ETP‘s Board of Directors.ย 

Sabine Pass LNG Terminal ownerย Cheniere Energy, the first company in the fracking era to receive an export permit from the Obama Administration back in 2012, also has a politically connected Board of Directors. Among its members is Obama’s former climate czar, Heather Zichal.ย 

FERC has come under fire of late forย rubber-stamping nearly every project proposal landing on its desk.

Meet theย Lobbyists

Cheniere has spentย $2.5 millionย lobbying the federal government in 2015 andย Williams has spentย theย $730,000.ย While the cash appears to beย paying off theย money spent on lobbying only scratches the surface of the story.ย ย 

For example, while most of Cheniere’s in-house lobbying corps has remained intact, it has added the daughter of former Bush Administration Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Julie Abraham. Her name is included on the list of lobbyists on Cheniere’s quarter three 2015 federal lobbying disclosure form.ย 

Ankit Desai, a campaign finance bundler for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run for president and former top-level aide to Vice President and then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden, is also on Cheniere’s lobbying payroll. Desai also formerly served as a top-level staffer for current U.S. Secretary of State and then-U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA).ย 

Lobbying firm Williams and Jensen also deployed a nine-strong member advocacy squad on behalf of Cheniere during quarter three. One of the lobbyists,ย Melinda Maxfield, formerly served as Deputy Finance Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headย up by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

Williams, too, has deployed a well-connected team of lobbyists to try and push through expedited permitting of gas-carrying pipelines like Gulf Trace. One of theย members of that teamย isย Chad Bradley, the former deputy chief of staff for the climate change denying U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK).

Thomas Ryanย is another lobbyist deployed by Williams to push for streamlined gas pipeline permitting. He formerly served as chief counsel for theย U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Jeffrey MacKinnonย is yetย another lobbyist deployed by Williams. MacKinnon formerly served as legislative director forย U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), theย climate change denierย andย former chairmanย of theย Energy & Commerceย Committee.


U.S. Rep. Joe Barton: Photo Credit:ย Wikimediaย Commons

Addย Joseph Vasapoliย to the list, as well. ย Vasapoli, whoย helped writeย the Energy Policy Act of 2005 thatย transformed fracking into a widespread practice in the U.S., formerly served asย Republican Counsel for the Energy & Commerce Committee. He alsoย has spent time working at both FERC and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the two federal agencies responsible for overseeing the LNG export ย and interstate gas pipeline permittingย processes.

The revolving door connections of the lobbyists representing LNG export companies tells a deeper story about favors done on behalf of the powerful, asย DC Bureau has exposedย in an investigative story about Cheniere and as theย November 2014 investigative reportย co-published by DeSmog and Republic Reportย details.

Gulf Trace serves as yet another example of that process inย action.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock |ย MyImages –ย Micha

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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