Republished from the Midland Reporter-Telegram. 

Texas dominates the nation’s energy production, and a new whitepaper indicates the Lone Star State can play a key role in providing sustainable energy around the globe.

According to “Texas LNG: Poised to Meet the World’s Energy and Climate Needs,” Texans for Natural Gas, a project of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, said exports of Texas liquefied natural gas can help “reduce air pollution in India, power ever-growing cities like Beijing and will keep the lights on in developing regions across the world.”

The report cited forecasts from the US Energy Information Administration that the US will become the world’s largest LNG exporter this year, with that increased export capacity driven by expansions of facilities dotting the Texas Gulf Coast, namely at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi.

Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO and spokesperson for Texans for Natural Gas, noted the report was issued as "a flotilla" of ships carrying US LNG was headed toward Europe. He told the Reporter-Telegram by email that, “with increased export capacity, the Gulf Coast will look toward the Permian Basin to meet natural gas demand. In 2020, the Permian Basin alone accounted for 14 percent of U.S. natural gas production – measured as gross withdrawals.”

The report found that natural gas from the Permian Basin delivers emissions cuts of roughly 50 percent when used in Germany and China. LNG, the report said, can play a key role in reducing global emissions. For example, Russia’s flaring intensity is 143 percent higher than that of the US and 239 percent higher than the Texas portion of the Permian Basin.

Said Longanecker, “Natural gas production in the Permian Basin will continue to rise, coupled with a further decline in flaring volumes and pipeline infrastructure expansion, enabling the region to transport more product for export and to meet increasing domestic demand.”

He went on to add, “Global demand for oil and natural gas will continue to increase in the years ahead, necessitating the need for sufficient pipeline infrastructure to transport our product. We may experience periods of excess capacity, but overall we will need to expand infrastructure to keep up with demand both here and abroad.”