{"id":344633,"date":"2024-09-26T08:07:28","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T06:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=344633"},"modified":"2024-09-26T08:07:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T06:07:30","slug":"yes-louisiana-there-is-a-scandal-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=344633","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Louisiana, there is a Scandal-\u201cPause\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government Accountability & Oversight<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by GAO Webadmin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoE court filing supports claims of buried 2023 study, LNG \u201cpause\u201d based on a lie<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent court filing<\/a>, after months of stalling and flouting numerous legal obligations and deadlines the Biden-Harris Department of Energy, through its lawyers at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia, let slip something it had spent a year, including three months in litigation, trying to avoid becoming known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, DoE has \u201cidentified 97 potentially responsive documents totaling 4,354 pages\u201d of records meeting the following description:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 1) any LNG export study transmitted by the National Energy Technology Lab to the Office of Fossil Energy between January 1, 2023 and October 31, 2023, and 2) the email(s) transmitting the document(s) from the National Energy Technology Labs (NETL) to, inter alia, DoE\u2019s Office of Fossil Energy.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request by GAO, whose parameters were very deliberately chosen, for reasons GAO laid out here<\/a>. DoE\u2019s admission that records exist came not only after months of stall tactics (below), but also repeatedly vague wordplay in its first offerings for this report to the court, avoiding disclosure of the fact until pressed by GAO lawyers to admit this most basic of answers\u2014what have you got<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, DoE had known this particular something for six weeks and refused to let on, again despite statutory and judicially imposed deadlines to do so:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

These delays were not mere bureaucratic sloth. In FOIA litigation brought by GAO, to avoid admitting these records exist DoE employed motions seeking extensions of time, motions to stay proceedings, motions  to tie unrelated cases together causing further delays, and outright refusal to provide even court-ordered answers.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This confession that DoE indeed has copies of such a study on liquified natural gas exports strongly indicates that the administration has been telling a spectacular non-truth to the public about the basis for \u201cthis crazy LNG permitting pause<\/a> [t]he consequences [of which] will be dire for the industry in four to five years, but they also carry national security implications now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recall, the stated reason for this \u201cpause\u201d was that DoE needed to conduct a macroeconomic study of the costs and benefits of LNG exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we see it had already done so meaning, in very short, the supposed basis for \u201cpausing\u201d LNG exports appears to be untrue, the falsehood serving as pretext for this latest gambit to impose<\/a> \u201cPresident Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s climate agenda, which has focused on limiting natural gas exports. Environmentalists argue that increased gas exports could result in far more domestic drilling and, as a result, more emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to impose this \u201cpause\u201d caused shock throughout the energy industry, among U.S. allies\u2026 and among some others in the know. One of those people let the word go forth that in fact DoE had already conducted such an analysis, in 2023, but buried it because the conclusions would not support the preferred policy of strangling options for abundant, often \u201cfracked\u201d U.S. natural gas. With fewer things to do with the gas (hello, gas stoves they definitely don\u2019t want to ban that\u2019s a conspiracy theory akshully it\u2019s a good thing that heck yeah they sure do want to do that<\/em>), the opposition to fracking could be worn down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoE conducts these studies with some regularity, The most recent (acknowledged) version, the 2018 DoE report, ran 144 pages. The 2014 report was much shorter, at 42 pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoE now admits through counsel that its search produced 97 documents\/4,354 pages. This averages 45 pages a document (email threads will be shorter, of course). The most reasonable conclusion from this is that NETL sent several versions of the rumored report over these ten months. Or, put more simply: yes, it appears that the report which DoE claims to need to conduct before continuing LNG exports to non-FTA countries had already been prepared, and buried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoE is plainly in no hurry to let the public in on any further details, having taken three months too long to state the basic answer: yes, the study exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post Script<\/strong>: To date, DoE has only responded to one of the four requests made in early June, producing records<\/a> in response to the request for \u201cchat\u201d logs for certain senior officials over the three days surrounding and including the January \u201cpause\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It appears that DoE and the White House were \u201con the same page\u201d in announcing the \u201cpause\u201d and the pretext. But the truth will out, and this recent confession is damning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent court\u00a0filing, after months of stalling and flouting numerous legal obligations and deadlines the Biden-Harris Department of Energy, through its lawyers at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia, let slip something it had spent a year, including three months in litigation, trying to avoid becoming known.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691830718,691829604,691819423,691826963],"class_list":["post-344633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-biden-harris-department-of-energy","tag-climate-lawsuits","tag-lng","tag-methane-ch4","has-post-thumbnail","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1rEB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":299005,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=299005","url_meta":{"origin":344633,"position":0},"title":"Biden Pauses Natural Gas Export Approvals","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"President Biden doing his best to burn down an industry filled with well paid unionised jobs.","rel":"","context":"In \"Liquefied Natural Gas\u00a0Exports\"","block_context":{"text":"Liquefied Natural Gas\u00a0Exports","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=liquefied-natural-gas-exports"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/00Screenshot-2024-01-29-190859.png?fit=1184%2C664&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/00Screenshot-2024-01-29-190859.png?fit=1184%2C664&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/00Screenshot-2024-01-29-190859.png?fit=1184%2C664&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, 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Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQNBRIHdKxh2h7hVctGUxY4SfwKhXBuc8ynEnz5uay3ebaSyr8LGXiNpXytQWBpklVHoReip5bnDxRBM2XJNuFE8x7xtg1tLe28nZNWJUKf6Wp_C1XZr5uKcsfiSIBrf-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQNBRIHdKxh2h7hVctGUxY4SfwKhXBuc8ynEnz5uay3ebaSyr8LGXiNpXytQWBpklVHoReip5bnDxRBM2XJNuFE8x7xtg1tLe28nZNWJUKf6Wp_C1XZr5uKcsfiSIBrf-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQNBRIHdKxh2h7hVctGUxY4SfwKhXBuc8ynEnz5uay3ebaSyr8LGXiNpXytQWBpklVHoReip5bnDxRBM2XJNuFE8x7xtg1tLe28nZNWJUKf6Wp_C1XZr5uKcsfiSIBrf-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C671&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, 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This decision will not affect current export projects or those under construction.","rel":"","context":"In \"DOE\"","block_context":{"text":"DOE","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=doe"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370943,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=370943","url_meta":{"origin":344633,"position":3},"title":"EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin \u2018Intentionally Buried\u2019 Inconvenient Study to Justify Major Energy Crackdown, Sources Say","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Biden administration deliberately buried a final draft version of a study that would have undermined its January 2024 decision to pause approvals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, according to four Department of Energy (DOE) sources.","rel":"","context":"In \"Department of Energy (DOE)\"","block_context":{"text":"Department of Energy (DOE)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=department-of-energy-doe"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/zScreenshot-2024-01-29-190859.webp?fit=1024%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/zScreenshot-2024-01-29-190859.webp?fit=1024%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/zScreenshot-2024-01-29-190859.webp?fit=1024%2C574&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/zScreenshot-2024-01-29-190859.webp?fit=1024%2C574&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337170,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=337170","url_meta":{"origin":344633,"position":4},"title":"Federal judge blocks Biden\u2019s ban on new U.S. LNG export terminals","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Saying the Biden administration\u2019s \u201cpause\u201d in approving new liquefied natural gas export terminals \u201cis completely without reason or logic and is perhaps the epiphany of ideocracy,\u201d U.S. District Judge James D. Cain on July 2 ordered the policy to be \u201cstayed in its entirety, effective immediately.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden Administration\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Natural-gas-burners-blue-flame.jpg?fit=1200%2C952&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Natural-gas-burners-blue-flame.jpg?fit=1200%2C952&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Natural-gas-burners-blue-flame.jpg?fit=1200%2C952&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Natural-gas-burners-blue-flame.jpg?fit=1200%2C952&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Natural-gas-burners-blue-flame.jpg?fit=1200%2C952&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":319373,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=319373","url_meta":{"origin":344633,"position":5},"title":"The Incredible Dumbness of Biden\u2019s War on LNG, Part Deux","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In our recently released Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will continue to lead growth in U.S. natural gas trade as three LNG export projects currently under construction start operations and ramp up to full production by the end of 2025. We also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Attor\u00adney Gen\u00ader\u00adal Ken Pax\u00adton\"","block_context":{"text":"Attor\u00adney Gen\u00ader\u00adal Ken Pax\u00adton","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=attorney-general-ken-paxton"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/00LNG_TANKER-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=344633"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":344647,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344633\/revisions\/344647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=344633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=344633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=344633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}