Statement by Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg at the AES Colon Natural Gas Power Plant Inauguration in Colon, Panama on August 17, 2018. 

Thank you.

Your Excellency President Varela and distinguished guests — on behalf of Secretary Perry and the United States Department of Energy, thank you for the opportunity to take part in the inauguration of Panama’s first gas-fired power plant.  It’s an honor to be here and to celebrate with you this momentous occasion.

So, on behalf of the United States Government, congratulations on this achievement for not only AES and all those involved in developing and constructing this facility, but also for the people of the Colon Province and the Republic of Panama.  The AES Colon plant is the first Central American natural gas power plant, which is significant in its own right.  But, it also points to another singular achievement — it is being supplied by the first LNG imports to Central America from the United States. 

Those cargos were shipped from Dominion’s Cove Point and Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminals in the United States.  Sabine Pass, by the way, was the first large-scale facility to receive authorization from the Department of Energy to export U.S. LNG, and the first such facility in the U.S. to export LNG.  And, those first-ever U.S. cargos to Central America were imported through Panama’s first LNG terminal — the Costa Norte LNG terminal here in Colon. 

So, the inauguration of this natural gas power plant represents a number of “firsts.”  And it also highlights the importance of an interconnected energy market, certainly on a global level — which the recent expansion of the Panama Canal is already helping to facilitate.  But, it also underscores the potential of natural gas markets here in the Western Hemisphere between the United States and its commercial partners and allies in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.  And, if new natural gas infrastructure is developed to take advantage of the Costa Norte terminal’s full import capacity, we see the potential for new natural gas interconnections throughout Central America.

The United States government fully supports an efficient and transparent global market for natural gas with diverse sources of supply that provides economic, energy, and strategic benefits to the United States, as well as our allies and partners.  And we believe that U.S. LNG is uniquely poised to play a pivotal role in promoting energy diversity, security and affordability, and environmental benefits to the world — and to our friends and neighbors here in Panama and in the region.

Since January 2017, the Department of Energy has granted authority to export natural gas from two world-scale LNG projects. Four additional large-scale export projects, representing approximately 11 billion cubic feet per day of export capacity, are under construction and will begin exporting over the next two years.  In total, we have authorized the export of more than 21 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to any destination in the world not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.  And, it’s important to note that the government of the United States has never vacated or rescinded an LNG export authorization over the objections of the authorization holder.

We stand firmly behind the export authorizations we have granted, and we take very seriously the investment-backed expectations of private parties subject to our regulatory jurisdiction.  And, that commitment can be seen in facts on the ground – in the cargos of U.S. LNG that are landing around the world.  

Since exports from the contiguous United States began in February 2016, more than 1.3 trillion cubic feet of U.S. LNG has been exported to 30 different countries on five continents — including countries in South America, the Caribbean, and — with the delivery to the Costa Norte terminal — Central America.  Last year, U.S. exports quadrupled and the United States became a net exporter of natural gas on an annual basis for the first time since 1957. 

So, U.S. LNG is having a global reach.

As you know, however, in many countries in the Caribbean as well as in other parts of the world including Asia, a small-scale natural gas export market has developed as a solution to the practical, infrastructure, and economic constraints that limit large-scale LNG imports.  To help meet the demands of this market, the Department of Energy last month issued a rule that will expedite the permitting of small-scale exports of U.S. natural gas, including LNG.

This “small-scale rule” will reduce the regulatory burden on U.S. exporters while also providing significant benefits and opportunities to our trading partners and allies in the Western Hemisphere.

As President Trump has said, U.S. energy exports “provide true energy security to our friends, partners, and allies all across the globe.”  Nowhere is that more evident than in the impacts that U.S. LNG is having around the world, and the benefits of those exports for our friends and neighbors in the Americas.

We’re proud that U.S. natural gas is playing a role in the success of the AES Colon power plant.  And we stand ready to help you diversify your energy sources as you expand economic growth and prosperity for Panama.

So, again, congratulations on the achievement we celebrate today.  And I wish you continued success.

Thank you.