US President Joe Biden's decision to pause approvals for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects will not affect supplies to Europe, a top US energy official told Politico.
"This does not affect LNG that is currently being exported," US Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk said in an interview after a high-level meeting with French officials in Paris"Defence" business district.
>"It also does not affect the ongoing capacity construction that is taking place to export even more LNG," Turk added, speaking from the 27th floor of a skyscraper where the French government keeps several offices.
The reassurance for anxious European officials comes months after Biden halted the signing of expected or future LNG exports from new gas projects - a surprise move designed to ease the concerns of climate-conscious voters ahead of the November election.
The decision rattled European industry, given its growing dependence on American liquefied natural gas, while the European Union is pushing to divest itself of Russian gas amid Moscow's tough war in Ukraine.
U.S. LNG exports to the EU have steadily increased since the start of the war in Ukraine and now make up half of the bloc's LNG supplies, up from about a quarter before the war.
The U.S. exports a total of about 14 billion cubic feet of LNG per day, Turk said. He said up to 48 billion cubic feet are already slated for export from future projects - roughly half of domestic natural gas production.
"When we put those numbers up, I think there's some reassurance that there's the supplies we need,'' Turk said.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the EU imported 7.1 billion cubic feet per day from the US in 2023, with France the largest importer of LNG in the EU.
The decision by the Biden administration to pause new approvals is in line with France's path to climate neutrality by 2050, a senior French official told Politico.
"This is in line with our vision," said Sophie Murlon, director general for energy and climate at the French energy ministry.
"The transition from fossil fuels... we need to accelerate this, we need to define a calendar and meeting places," the French official added.