The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) engaged the controversy over exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) with its December 5 publication of Macroeconomic Impacts of LNG Exports from the United States. Prepared for DOE by NERA Economic Consulting, the report concludes the domestic economy will benefit from LNG exports and thereby paves the way for approval of LNG export applications pending DOE approval. But, given the lead times for building export terminals and that only four of the 15 pending applications are expected to be approved in 2013, significant exports are unlikely in the near term. To be considered, initial public comments on the report must be submitted to the Department by January 24, 2013, reply comments by February 25, 2013.

The report evaluated economic impacts “under a wide range of different assumptions about levels of exports, global market conditions, and the cost of producing natural gas in the U.S.” NERA modeled impacts using its Global Natural Gas Model and its general equilibrium model of the domestic economy. NERA considered the 16 economic scenarios addressed in DOE’s first study, issued in January 2012, as well as 47 global scenarios NERA developed.

via New DOE study fuels debate over LNG exports – Lexology.