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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
determine that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion from the preparation or adoption of an EIS or EA, pursuant to DOEs regulations implementing NEPA.10
II. Regulatory Background A. DOE Regulations Involving Contract Terms DOEs regulations implementing section 3 of the NGA are codified in 10
CFR part 590. In relevant part, any person applying to export natural gas from the United States or to amend an existing export authorization 11 is required to provide DOE with a copy of all relevant contracts and purchase agreements 12 and to identify any contract volumes related to the supply of natural gas to be exported.13
DOEs regulations, however, do not address the terms of contracts for the supply or export of natural gas, or distinguish between types of export authorizations based on the contract term.

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B. Long-Term Export Authority Because of the time, complexity, and expense of commercializing, financing, and constructing LNG export terminals, authorization holders typically apply to DOE for long-term authority to export LNG or other types of natural gas from their export facility to FTA and nonFTA countries.14 Since 2010, DOE has issued more than 100 long-term authorizations approving the export of natural gas in the form of LNG, compressed natural gas, or compressed gas liquid to either FTA countries, nonFTA countries, or both under consolidated FTA and non-FTA orders.
These long-term authorizationswhich originally ranged in duration from 20 to 30 years depending on the type of order and which now may extend through the year 2050 15are supported NEPA review process, and DOE serves as a cooperating agency. Where no other federal agency is responsible for permitting the export facility, DOE serves as the lead agency in the NEPA review process.
10 See 10 CFR part 1021, subpart D, appendix B
listing of categorical exclusions from preparation of either an EA or EIS under NEPA.
11 10 CFR 590.201a. For purposes of this policy statement, DOE uses the terms authorization and order interchangeably.
12 Id. at 10 CFR 590.202c.
13 Id. at 10 CFR 590.202b2.
14 This policy statement does not apply to longterm export authorizations involving modes of transport other than by marine vessel, including but not limited to orders authorizing exports of natural gas by pipeline.
15 Effective August 25, 2020, DOE discontinued its practice of granting a standard 20-year export term for long-term authorizations to export domestically produced natural gas from the lower48 states to non-FTA countries. DOE adopted a term
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by the authorization holders natural gas supply and sales contracts that often have similarly lengthy terms. In the long-term orders issued to date, DOE
specifies that the authorization holder is authorized to export the natural gas pursuant to one or more long-term contracts a contract greater than two years. 16
C. Short-Term Export Authority In 2015, DOE received the first application requesting short-term or blanket authorization to export domestically produced LNG over a twoyear period to both FTA and non-FTA
countries under NGA section 3.17 In the application, filed by Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC Sabine Pass, Sabine Pass noted that it held at that time two long-term FTA orders and one long-term non-FTA order authorizing it to export domestically produced LNG from the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project, then under construction in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.18 Sabine Pass requested to export a subset of its total export volume approved under its long-term authorizations for the two-year period.
Sabine Pass explained that, in anticipation of the start of liquefaction operations at the Liquefaction Project, it sought to engage in short-term exports of LNG produced both prior to commercial operations as well as subsequent to commercial operations if and when appropriate market opportunities arise. 19 Sabine Pass further stated that the requested shortterm authorization would provide it with enhanced operational flexibility and the ability to export produced LNG
cargoes that may be rejected by customers under one or more long-term contracts. 20
In January 2016, in DOE/FE Order No.
3767, DOE granted Sabine Passs application to export LNG by vessel on through December 31, 2050, as the standard export term for long-term non-FTA authorizations, unless a shorter term is requested by the applicant. See U.S. Dept of Energy, Extending Natural Gas Export Authorizations to Non-Free Trade Agreement Countries Through the Year 2050, Notice of Final Policy Statement and Response to Comments, 85 FR
52237 Aug. 25, 2020 hereinafter Term Extension Policy Statement.
16 See, e.g., Epcilon LNG LLC, DOE/FE Order No.
4629, FE Docket No. 2031LNG, Opinion and Order Granting Long-Term Authorization to Export Natural Gas to Mexico for Liquefaction, and to ReExport U.S.-Sourced Natural Gas in the Form of Liquefied Natural Gas from Mexico to Free Trade Agreement and Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations, at 55 Dec. 8, 2020 Ordering Para. A.
17 Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, FE Docket No.
15171LNG, Application for Blanket Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas Nov. 6, 2015.
18 Id. at 23.
19 Id. at 4.
20 Id. at 6.

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a short-term or spot market basis from the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project.21
In evaluating the non-FTA portion of the application, DOE stated that it already had conducted a full public interest review under NGA section 3a for Sabine Passs long-term non-FTA
authorization.22 Next, DOE noted that Sabine Pass was seeking only to export a non-additive portion of its total export volume over the two-year period. DOE
found:
Provided that the volumes proposed for export . . . when added to any volumes exported under Sabine Pass long-term export authorization, do not exceed the approved long-term export volume on an annual i.e., consecutive 12 month basis, the public interest impacts of the total exports will not increase as a consequence of our approval of the Application in this proceeding.23

On this basis, DOE concluded that no additional public interest review beyond that conducted in the earlier non-FTA export proceedings is warranted. 24
In the ordering paragraphs for Sabine Passs short-term order, DOE specified that Sabine Pass was authorized to export the requested LNG pursuant to transactions that have terms of no longer than two years. 25 DOE also required that the volume of LNG authorized for export to non-FTA countries in this Order, when combined with the volume of LNG approved for export in Sabine Passs long-term non-FTA order shall not exceed the total approved non-FTA
volume during any consecutive 12month period. 26
Under this framework, DOE has issued 13 additional short-term authorizations to supplement one or more existing long-term authorizations for the same facility or facilities and authorization holder. To maintain this export authority, authorization holders are required to apply for new short-term ordersand DOE is required to process and review those applicationsevery two years.27 Five of these short-term orders are currently active, including Sabine Passs most recent short-term 21 Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3767, FE Docket No. 15171LNG, Order Granting Blanket Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas by Vessel from the Sabine Pass LNG
Terminal Located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, at 2 Jan. 13, 2016.
22 Id. at 9.
23 Id. at 910 emphasis added.
24 Id. at 10.
25 Id. at 13 Ordering Para. A.
26 Id. at 1314 Ordering Para. B.
27 See U.S. Dept of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, How to Obtain Authorization to Import and/or Export Natural Gas and LNGTypes of Authorizations and Requests, available at: https
www.energy.gov/fe/services/natural-gas-regulation/
how-obtain-authorization-import-andor-exportnatural-gas-and-lng.

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