[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 174 (Thursday, September 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62109-62111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21579]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[FE Docket No. 16-108-LNG]


Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P., FLNG Liquefaction, LLC, FLNG 
Liquefaction 2, LLC & FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC; Application for 
Amendment to Long-Term, Multi-Contract Authorizations To Export 
Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations for a Period 
of 20 Years

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy 
(DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application, filed on August 3, 
2016 (Application), by Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P. (Freeport 
Expansion), FLNG Liquefaction, LLC (FLIQ1), FLNG Liquefaction 2, LLC 
(FLIQ2) and FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC (FLIQ3) (collectively FLEX) to 
amend a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export authorization permitting 
exports to any country that has, or in the future develops, the 
capacity to import LNG and with which the United States does not have a 
free trade agreement (FTA) requiring national treatment for trade in 
natural gas and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or 
policy (non-FTA countries). Specifically, FLEX requests DOE to amend 
the LNG export authorization issued in DOE/FE Order Nos. 3357, 3357-A, 
3357-B and 3357-C (collectively Order No. 3357) in order to allow FLEX 
to engage in additional long-term, multi-contract exports of 
domestically produced LNG in a volume up to the equivalent of 125 
billion cubic feet per year (Bcf/yr) of natural gas (0.34 Bcf/day) for 
a period of 20 years. This additional volume of LNG is incremental to 
the equivalent of 146 Bcf/yr of natural gas (0.4 Bcf/day), which is the 
volume of LNG that FLEX is currently authorized to export pursuant to 
Order No. 3357, and to the equivalent of 511 Bcf/yr of natural gas

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(1.4 Bcf/day), which is the volume of LNG that FLEX is currently 
authorized to export pursuant to DOE/FE Order Nos. 3282, 3282-A, 3282-
B, and 3282-C. FLEX requests that all other terms and conditions of 
Order No. 3357 apply to the additional 125 Bcf/yr of LNG export 
authority proposed in the Application. Through the Amendment, FLEX 
seeks to align the authorized export volumes of LNG to non-FTA 
countries from the Freeport Liquefaction Project \1\ (the Liquefaction 
Project) with the optimized increased production capacity design of the 
facilities approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 
in FERC Docket No. CP15-518-000 of 782 Bcf/yr (2.14 Bcf/day). The 
Application was filed under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). 
Additional details can be found in FLEX's Application, posted on the 
DOE/FE Web site at: http://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/08/f33/16-108-LNGapp.pdf Protests, motions to intervene, notices of 
intervention, and written comments are invited.
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    \1\ The Liquefaction Project is currently under construction at 
the Freeport LNG Terminal on Quintana Island, Texas. The Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (``Commission'' or ``FERC'') authorized 
the siting, construction and operation of the Liquefaction Project 
in 2014. See Freeport LNG Development, L.P. et al., 148 FERC ] 
61,076 (2014), reh'g denied, 149 FERC ] 61,119 (2014).

DATES: Protests, motions to intervene or notices of intervention, as 
applicable, requests for additional procedures, and written comments 
are to be filed using procedures detailed in the Public Comment 
Procedures section no later than 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, November 7, 
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2016.

ADDRESSES: Electronic Filing by email: [email protected].
    Regular Mail: U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34) Office of 
Regulation and International Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, P.O. 
Box 44375, Washington, DC 20026-4375.
    Hand Delivery or Private Delivery Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS, 
etc.): U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Regulation and 
International Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, 
Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Beverly Howard, or Larine Moore, U.S. 
Department of Energy (FE-34) Office of Regulation and International 
Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 3E-042, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9387; 
(202) 586-9578.
    Edward Myers, U.S. Department of Energy (GC-76), Office of the 
Assistant General Counsel for Electricity and Fossil Energy, Forrestal 
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 
586-3397.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

DOE/FE Evaluation

    The Application will be reviewed pursuant to section 3(a) of the 
NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717b(a), and DOE will consider any issues required by 
law or policy. To the extent determined to be relevant, these issues 
will include the domestic need for the natural gas proposed to be 
exported, the adequacy of domestic natural gas supply, and U.S. energy 
security. DOE may also consider other factors bearing on the public 
interest, including the impact of the proposed exports on the U.S. 
economy, international considerations, and whether the authorization is 
consistent with DOE's policy of promoting competition in the 
marketplace by allowing commercial parties to freely negotiate their 
own trade arrangements. As part of this analysis, DOE will consider the 
following two studies examining the cumulative impacts of exporting 
domestically produced LNG:
     Effect of Increased Levels of Liquefied Natural Gas on 
U.S. Energy Markets, conducted by the U.S. Energy Information 
Administration upon DOE's request (2014 EIA LNG Export Study); \2\ and
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    \2\ The 2014 EIA LNG Export Study, published on Oct. 29, 2014, 
is available at: https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/fe/.
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     The Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing U.S. LNG Exports, 
conducted jointly by the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University's 
Baker Institute for Public Policy and Oxford Economics, on behalf of 
DOE (2015 LNG Export Study).\3\
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    \3\ The 2015 LNG Export Study, dated Oct. 29, 2015, is available 
at: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/12/f27/20151113_macro_impact_of_lng_exports_0.pdf.

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Additionally, DOE will consider the following environmental documents:

     Addendum to Environmental Review Documents Concerning 
Exports of Natural Gas From the United States, 79 FR 48132 (Aug. 15, 
2014); \4\ and
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    \4\ The Addendum and related documents are available at http://energy.gov/fe/addendum-environmental-review-documents-concerning-exports-natural-gas-united-states.
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     Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on Exporting 
Liquefied Natural Gas From the United States, 79 FR 32260 (June 4, 
2014).\5\

    \5\ The Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Report is available at: http://energy.gov/fe/life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-perspective-exporting-liquefied-natural-gas-united-states.

Parties that may oppose this Application should address these issues in 
their comments and/or protests, as well as other issues deemed relevant 
to the Application.
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq., requires DOE to give appropriate consideration to the 
environmental effects of its proposed decisions. No final decision will 
be issued in this proceeding until DOE has met its environmental 
responsibilities.

Public Comment Procedures

    In response to this Notice, any person may file a protest, 
comments, or a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as 
applicable. Due to the complexity of the issues raised by the 
Applicant, interested persons will be provided 60 days from the date of 
publication of this Notice in which to submit comments, protests, 
motions to intervene, or notices of intervention.
    Any person wishing to become a party to the proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene or notice of intervention. The filing of comments 
or a protest with respect to the Application will not serve to make the 
commenter or protestant a party to the proceeding, although protests 
and comments received from persons who are not parties will be 
considered in determining the appropriate action to be taken on the 
Application. All protests, comments, motions to intervene, or notices 
of intervention must meet the requirements specified by the regulations 
in 10 CFR part 590.
    Filings may be submitted using one of the following methods: (1) 
Emailing the filing to [email protected], with FE Docket No. 16-108-LNG 
in the title line; (2) mailing an original and three paper copies of 
the filing to the Office of Regulation and International Engagement at 
the address listed in ADDRESSES; or (3) hand delivering an original and 
three paper copies of the filing to the Office of Regulation and 
International Engagement at the address listed in ADDRESSES. All 
filings must include a reference to FE Docket No. 16-108-LNG. PLEASE 
NOTE: If submitting a filing via email, please include all related 
documents and attachments (e.g., exhibits) in the original email 
correspondence. Please do not include any active hyperlinks or password 
protection in any of the documents or attachments related to the 
filing. All electronic filings submitted to DOE must follow these 
guidelines to ensure that all documents are filed in a timely manner. 
Any hardcopy filing submitted greater in length than 50 pages must also 
include, at the time of

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the filing, a digital copy on disk of the entire submission.
    A decisional record on the Application will be developed through 
responses to this notice by parties, including the parties' written 
comments and replies thereto. Additional procedures will be used as 
necessary to achieve a complete understanding of the facts and issues. 
If an additional procedure is scheduled, notice will be provided to all 
parties. If no party requests additional procedures, a final Opinion 
and Order may be issued based on the official record, including the 
Application and responses filed by parties pursuant to this notice, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 590.316.
    The Application is available for inspection and copying in the 
Office of Regulation and International Engagement docket room, Room 3E-
042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The docket 
room is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    The Application and any filed protests, motions to intervene or 
notice of interventions, and comments will also be available 
electronically by going to the following DOE/FE Web address: http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/gasregulation/index.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 1, 2016.
John A. Anderson,
Director, Office of Regulation and International Engagement, Office of 
Oil and Natural Gas.
[FR Doc. 2016-21579 Filed 9-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P