Following demands by the TikTok lobby, Biden will pause LNG exports. The ironic winners are coal and Russia. The losers are the US and the environment. 
Biden and the TikTok Anti-LNG Crusade
The Wall Street Journal comments on Biden and the TikTok Anti-LNG Crusade
Americans received a preview of a second Biden term on Friday when the President halted permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects. Climate politics has become the tail wagging this Administration’s economic, national security and foreign policy. President Biden isn’t running for re-election. Climate lobbyist Bill McKibben and his TikTok army are.
“This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time,” Mr. Biden said. “We will heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act.” Didn’t he campaign in 2020 by promising to be the adult in the room?
Now he’s letting TikTokers dictate U.S. policy. Press reports say Biden adviser John Podesta pushed for the “pause”—which tees up an outright ban—after TikTokers and Mr. McKibben made stopping LNG exports a cause celebre. Mr. Biden’s advisers at the White House even met with a TikTok climate “influencer.” The Administration hopes its climate gesture will boost the President’s flagging political support among young people.
Mr. Biden’s views sure have evolved. As Vice President, he boasted about the benefits of U.S. LNG exports. “The United States is now a net [gas] exporter,” he proclaimed at the 2016 CAF conference. “There are even greater opportunities to supply the energy needs of our partners in Latin America and around the world.”
Nobody in the White House seems to understand that countries sign long-term contracts years in advance so they can plan their energy infrastructure and needs. They won’t build new gas plants or import terminals without supply locked in—or they will turn to more reliable sources. Russia now looks like a more reliable energy source than the U.S.
New York Times
“Ahead of the decision, White House climate advisers met with activists like Alex Haraus, a 25-year-old Colorado social media influencer who has led a TikTok and Instagram campaign aimed at urging young voters to demand that Mr. Biden reject the project.“
Dear Europe Please Look Elsewhere
The Beneficiaries
Glen Youngkin, Governor of Virginia
“The Kremlin is celebrating this decision. American natural gas is the cleanest in the world, can displace foreign coal from China, and ensures our allies aren’t relying on Russia for natural gas.”
From what I have seen of Youngkin, including actions in Virginia that got him elected, I would like to have seen him on the ballot, not Trump, or any of the rest of those who dropped out. I think he could have won in a landslide.
Five Major Consequences
- Changing supply does not change the demand. That demand will be met by Russia which has less environmental concerns over methane release than US producers.
- To the extent energy demands are not met by LNG, they will be met by more use of coal, especially by China.
- The US will lose jobs. Russia will gain them.
- Biden sent a signal to the EU that the US is not a reliable energy partner. At a minimum, this will have the EU looking back towards Russia and away from its clean energy goals. Europe is already a hot bed of the anti-green movement.
- Biden will not gain votes from this. The people he is appeasing would vote for him anyway. He will lose independents and moderates, especially in natural gas producing states. Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry employs more than 72,000. It is the second largest natural gas producer in the US following Texas.
In general, the LNG Pause will hurt the environment, aid Russia, and won’t do anything for Biden’s election campaign although I suspect that is the real reason for the pause.
As a result of the pause, we may see lower natural gas prices but the overall damage is massive.
It would be ironic (and deserving) if Biden loses Pennsylvania and the election over this.
The Rise of the Farmer’s Daughter and Another Green Energy Revolt
In Europe, an energy revolt is underway. For details, please see The Rise of the Farmer’s Daughter and Another Green Energy Revolt
Four More Years?
Biden’s clean energy push, union push, free money ideas, student loan forgiveness, and social handout policies are all from the extreme progressive Left.
And they are all highly inflationary, too. So don’t prematurely celebrate the alleged slow down in inflation.
From ‘Never Trump’ to ‘Encore’
Biden promised to be a moderate. He is the Progressive’s wet dream candidate .
You may not like Trump, and I don’t either. But the US cannot afford another four years of Biden’s regulatory madness.
For discussion, please see How Many People Went From ‘Never Trump’ to ‘Encore’?
Independents who don’t like either of them will face a choice. I don’t think it will be Biden.
This is all retaliation for Texas taking a stand on the border is it not?!
Didn’t Biden want to take action against Tik-Tok because it was spreading Chinese propaganda?
Seems like stopping more US LNG exports would benefit China (and Russia).
China is the world’s largest LNG importer; why would they want to decrease supply?
The biggest factor for Mish in the 2016 election was Hillary’s war hawk position.
Trump scaled back the US military overseas and didn’t start any new wars.
Biden has reversed that.
Just what candidate do you want? So far it’s Trump or Biden. Choose.
No more new permits for LNG exports and no way to get permits for lithium mines.
Nannycrat Biden will promote tax incentives for pedal bikes and ice cream cones.
I like baskin wobbins pb n chocolate
First, let me state that I am in favor of producing and exporting as much LNG as possible. More nat gas, less coal, wherever possible.
Second, stop the hysteria. The US already has 7 LNG export facilities that can export 13 bcf per day. We are already the world’s largest exporter of LNG. (And we produce more oil than any other country.)
Another 5 LNG export facilities are approved and currently under construction. They are not affected.
There are 17 more facilities looking for approval.
This pause will merely allow some time to update the approval process on 4 facilities that won’t even be built till after 2028.
The approvals may still come, whether from this administration, or the next, or the next.
This is typical of US politics. Lots of sound and fury, but not much actual impact.
That all sounds very plausible, but it’s still a very strange signal to send to the rest of NATO or the EU, that in the midst of a supposed emerging conflagration with Russia, that the US wants to switch from pumping aid into Ukraine, to sabotaging Germany.
Imagine running an energy-intensive business in Germany: Your regular Russian source of natgas is cut off, so you’re promised that American LNG will be your savior, albeit at increased cost. Now, you hear that the American LNG supply will be stopped. Even if more export terminals are coming online, this isn’t the type of environment that leads to solid long-term planning.
Biden is listening to TikTok? That is just absurd.
This from a man that allowed his ego to create Corn Pop….
CornPop was a baaad dude… And if you don’t vote for me, you ain’t black… And if you don’t fire that prosecutor, I’ll withhold a billion dollars in foreign aid… And I never had any knowledge of or participated in my son’s businesses… And Hunter is the smartest guy that I know… And if you don’t take these experimental gene therapy shots, I’ll weaponize OSHA to have you fired… Oh, and women have penises now.
Brought to you by The Democratic Party.
Russia has problems protecting its oil terminals from Ukraine drones. For the moment LNG is not touched but who knows? Yamal is protected by distance by the others are not. They also have an acute labor shortage for some reason so they won’t be adding any jobs. The LNG pipeline plans to China have gone nowhere and will continue to rapidly go nowhere. Let’s see how spot LNG prices develop. I don’t expect much movement.
… makes me wonder : how does 30 billion cubic meter of Russian gas (last year’s official export number), get into china ? Bottled ? I ask you because you are this blog’s wise guy, aren t you ?
“Democracy is a system of government by the people, of the people, and for the people. Unfortunately the people are morons.”
How many kings, emperors, dictators and strongmen ended up not being morons as well? Not many.
I’m so tired of hearing the “existential threat” threat. We would be doing much more than pausing if climate change is truly “the existential threat of our time”
True existential threat will come from space.
Climate change is without any doubt the biggest HOAX ever to gain ground, alongside the Russia Russia Russia drum banging by the MIC.
Controlling the political narrative for the grifters that have control of the stealing rights is today, with this administration run by a doddering Demented old fool used as a puppet on a string by Obama (Soros), out to destroy the country is beyond dangerous.
The open border to allow the INVASION of MILLIONS of Illegals in in the hopes that they will vote Democrat is the biggest crime imaginable alongside the stolen election that installed the Demented One into office.
If I remember correctly, it was; Global Cooling- a new Ice Age
Global plankton die-off
Acid Rain
Global de-forestation
The Ozone Hole
Global famine when China hit 1 billion
Disastrous Global CO2 levels
Giant space meteor
Plastic soda straws
Global Covid
Global Warming (climate change)
Thank goodness they found a fix for Global Warming! Apparently, if you give Al Gore, the Clinton cabal and the Obama mafia billions of $ for “carbon credits”, then Global Warming magically goes away.
Many jobs are going to be replaced by robots and automation. The transition is accelerating. Humanoid robots are the next big thing.
———
Figure’s humanoid robots are about to enter the workforce at BMW
By Loz Blain
January 18, 2024
Figure has signed its first commercial deal, and is sending its general-purpose humanoid robots off to start real-world work at BMW’s manufacturing plant in South Carolina. Founder and CEO Brett Adcock talks us through this rubber-meets-road moment.
Emerging from stealth mode just 10 months ago, Figure has developed its robots at a frightening pace. The company had prototypes up and walking within a year of development, thanks to a highly experienced team – and at an impressive speed, too, compared with everything this side of the acrobatic Atlas bot from Boston Dynamics.
A little over a week ago, the company announced another milestone, releasing video of the Figure 01 robot autonomously making a coffee in response to a verbal command. Adcock called this a “ChatGPT moment” for the company, since the robot figured out how to use that coffee machine on its own after watching a bunch of video demonstrations.
…
link to newatlas.com
What happened to state sovereignty? As a Louisianan, I think such decisions should be made at the state level. He can do this plus what he is threatening to do in Texas because he knows those states will never vote for him.
Biden is a clown. Voting for a dumbass has consequences. Unfortunately we’re always given a slate of dumbasses.
The states this impacts the most certainly didn’t vote for Biden.
“This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time,” Mr. Biden said.
Pause until after the TikTokers vote for him in November?
“The price Spire West customers pay per cubic foot of gas will jump from 40.4 cents to more than 79.3 cents, an increase of 96.2%”
This is from March last year –
link to eenews.net
Surprised Yergin associated with that rogues gallery. He used to go on the Lou Rukeyser show 30 years ago.
It’s just a pause on plans for new LNG installations and we will see how long it will last. When Biden came in he was supposed to cut down drilling of fossil fuels. Fast forward and the US has become the world’s largest exporter of LNG . Biden’s order doesn’t affect the current LNG installations nor those being built so LNG exports will continue to rise. Soon he may no longer be there so I doubt that is a fundament shift.
The US is in a fast decline. Martin Armstrong’s uncanny ECM model points to 2032 as the year the US begins to lose its hegemony. All this nonsense we are witnessing is the noise an empire makes as it sinks to the bottom. I’m afraid there is little that can be done; we can mitigate some damage, but we can’t stop the trend. Our biggest issue right now is the push by Neocons, who control DC, to start an International war. We have extreme challenges ahead.
2032?
hahahaha a sunny optimist.
How about 2024? US “hegemony” shrinks by the second, at light speed.
The more neo-con and woketarded policies are enacted, the more decline accelerates. A few more disastrous defeats and victory will be assured!
“Russia now looks like a more reliable energy source than the U.S.” They did reliably supply gas to Europe for decades, until NATO decided to put a halt to that.You see, in order to enable Europe to stand up to “Russian aggression”, of course we needed to destroy their economies by ending their supply of cheap reliable energy. Genius, I tell you, sheer genius. Now they will be able to easily build huge armies, navies and air forces, to confront Russia….err, wait….what?
““The US will lose jobs. Russia will gain them.” Somebody will gain jobs out of this, and it won’t be the USA. Demand will be filled. Of course, Biden voters don’t need jobs, they have higher priorities, like spending all day virtue-signalling.
If 1% of the retards with Ukraine flags on their facebook profiles, Instagram profiles, and tramp stamps had even 1% of the courage and pluck of the jihadis who traveled to Afghanistan on their own dime and defeated the USSR & the USA, they would’ve gone to the front lines and Russia would’ve lost the war long ago. Instead, all of these Hutts are obese losers who believe they can “think tank” Ukraine to victory.
Im not really sure we have as much natgas left as we think. This is not corn. It cant be “grown” into existence. All the fossil fuel energy we have is one-off. You cant grow any more oil or natgas. I would prefer we not export any at all. If Russia and Qatar have so much they want to sell to the world, let them. We should keep crude and natags at home.
Biden really has it in for the Germans. He gets them to embargo Russian energy, blows up a pipeline (probably) to insure that, now is cutting LNG exports. Germany is becoming irrelevant to NATO and to manufacturing. Trump warned them and they laughed. Who would’ve dreamed 10 years ago that Germany would be dependent on Poland for protection from Russia, and dependent on France for energy rather than Russia or the U.S.
Trump’s dad was German, and his mum was Scottish. Trump is eligible for both UK and German citizenship. Biden is not remotely Irish and not eligible for Irish citizenship, Biden’s true nationality is Dystopian.
“The US will lose jobs. Russia will gain them.”
That’s not immediately obvious.
This whole setup, smells more “organized labor” than “green.”
One of; or more like the only; “industrial” edge the US has enjoyed over the past decade or two; has been dirt cheap, near negative-cost, gas. Resulting from shale oil production. Those giveaway prices have sustained, even enticed, plenty of “Biden”/union jobs; and continues to do so.
Take that advantage away, and those jobs are all moving offshore as well.
Whether that, sum total, makes up for the additional energy sector jobs facilitated by LNG exports, is anybody’s guess.
But energy sector jobs tend to be less unionized. And in Biden’s world, it’s union jobs in blue states which matter. Not frack-site jobs in Wyoming.
Isn’t TikTok and Biden owned by China?
…and the Vatican…
“Russia now looks like a more reliable energy source than the U.S.”
No shR%!, Sherlock!
The sheer level of delusion of the idiot classes, truly is mindboggling!
As a resident of PA sitting on top of a vast amount of NG, I have no problem with slowing the exports, or stopping them outright and it has nothing to do with the uncontrollable CO2 garbage Biden claims it does. This finite resource should be for the benefit of PA residents first, then the larger US. My NG bill is going up yet again because it’s more profitable to send it overseas. Screw that, along with all the geopolitical BS comments…
With this ban Tellurian TELL looks like a promising lottery ticket investment. Tellurian is looking for a investment partner to complete its Driftwood LNG project, but so far they have not found one. Now with the competition out of the way, isn’t it is likely somebody like Blackstone offers to help?
If this cessation of exports is really motivated by climatic reasons, the gas which should have been exported should remain underground, and not be used for other uses, for example being consumed in the US.
Biden is the most dishonest, untrustworthy and uninspiring political leader in my lifetime. Get him out of office.
The other day, Biden said in a speech, “The beer brewed here. It is used to make the brewed beer. During is define, oh, earth Rider. Thanks for the Great Lakes. I wonder why.” The man is a vegetable!
ABT…
But not everybody in the US loses on lower LNG exports. If you pay gas bills or you own shares in companies with already-approved or built LNG trains, you win(e.g. CQP, LNG).
You do lose if your investments count on eventual natural gas prices increases; unfortunately I have a fair number of shares in those losers (e.g. SWN, CHK)
Do you see a pattern developing here ?
This is crazy! Listening to an influencer to set energy policy, our borders being run over. What is going on! If there is any doubt that he give’s a hoot about Americans you ain’t American.
Regulatory madness –
link to m.youtube.com
Yes, that’s the problem!
There are many factions in the Democrat tent, even many factions in the corner of the tent for “progressives”. What I see is that those factions we call ‘limousine progressives’ are influencing what policy gets set. Most of those people already have nice wages and bank accounts, and have their own notions of “utopia” which they intend to impose on the rest of us.
Such policy setting is why so many once-Democrats are drifting away and beginning to vote for Republicans. To be seen whether the realignment of votes really does fix mistakes.
Them durn young whippersnappers…
CL [1D], with the cloud, reached equilibrium. CL might drop to the 40/55 range.
Oil prices, in real terms, adjusted to inflation, is $24 (Bloomberg). The real oil prices might be in accumulation, in a glut, like in the 80’s/90’s. The Dow reached a resistance line : 1929 to 2000 highs. The Dow [3M] wasn’t in recession for 15Y since 2009.
If the Dow loses its grip RSI [3M] might drop below 40, to recession area, and stay there for years.
Mortgage rates might be negative. Evicted tenants will retaliate. Recession might cleanse debt, including gov debt. In an election year the Fed will not cut rates, supporting Biden.
Posts like this make me want to raise the voting age to 40.
Shouldn’t the real answer here be to limit the age of running for president to say 70 so that we stop getting dotards as candidates.
That’s sounds a bit extreme, but there was one Rep. candidate who proposed minimum age of 25, voter id, and English only.
All part of democratic systems everywhere, except minimum age.
Setting the age limits between 25 and 70 makes absolute sense which is why it will never pass.
The system is designed to be controlled, not to make sense.
How about a simple IQ test? Or current politic/economic questions?