Moniz open to considering LNG exports

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said he'd review the prospects for export licenses for liquefied natural gas on a case-by-case basis. Moniz was sworn in this week as energy secretary after sailing through the nomination process. The Energy Department last week, before he took office, backed an application for exports of liquefied natural gas to countries that don't have a free trade agreement with the United States, only the second such approval. Moniz said during confirmation hearings that the final word wasn't in on more U.S. natural gas exports, noting there are "many factors" to consider. Critics of more exports said it will lead to more hydraulic fracturing, a controversial extraction process seen as a threat to the environment. On the market side, opponents said more U.S. natural gas exports will lead to higher domestic natural gas prices. Moniz told the 2013 Energy Efficiency Global Forum that he was committed to a sound review of the information on LNG. "I want to do more ... to make sure that we are using up-to-date data and then we want to go forward on a case-by-case basis" he said. Moniz, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, said in 2011 that he supported a global market for natural gas.