In a historic, unanimous vote, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed accelerating LNG infrastructure development through a landmark blanket authorisation programme. The proposal would streamline permitting, speed energy infrastructure development, and deliver unprecedented regulatory certainty for project developers.

In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), FERC proposes to establish an LNG blanket authorisation programme to allow eligible activities at LNG facilities to proceed without case-specific authorisation orders under Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act. The programme is modelled on the Commission’s 40-year blanket certificate programme for interstate natural gas pipelines.

“I am immensely proud of FERC’s historic proposal. It shows what can be possible when we combine regulatory excellence, robust safeguards, and a firm commitment to the nation’s energy future. Consumers benefit when more energy infrastructure is online, dependable, and affordable, and FERC is helping make that future a reality,” said FERC Chairman, Laura V. Swett.

FERC is proposing a three-tiered authorisation framework under which certain activities could proceed automatically, with periodic reporting, while others would require advance notice to the Commission. The proposed categories are as follows:

  • Automatic authorisation: Activities that would not increase an LNG plant’s authorised capacity, expand the authorised vertical or horizontal extents within the plant’s footprint, or cause flows, levels, volumes, pressures, temperatures, compositions, or loads to exceed applicable design limits.

  • 60-day prior notice: Activities that may increase the plant’s authorised capacity but remain within the plant’s footprint and do not cause operating conditions to exceed the design limits of the affected or remaining facilities.

  • 90-day prior notice: Construction of new LNG facilities – such as liquefaction trains, LNG tanks, and marine berths – and related auxiliary systems, including those located outside the plant’s footprint, subject to limitations on facility type, location, and size.

FERC’s NOPR also proposes standard environmental and engineering design conditions to address the potential impacts of projects approved under the blanket authorisation programme, as well as other requirements to ensure compliance with all applicable laws.