WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States expects its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to continue expanding following deliveries to Brazil and Portugal, US Department of State Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein told Sputnik.
"The United States is in an exciting beginning as transformation as an exporter. We had exports to Brazil and to Portugal. We are going to continue to see a rapid expansion of exports around the world," Hochstein said. "The market will determine where those exports go… There will be a continued increase in exports from the United States."
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Portuguese energy company Galp Energia confirmed to Sputnik that the first US cargo ship carrying LNG had arrived in Portugal.
"I am very excited specifically about the cargo to Portugal," Hochstein noted. "I think it’s the beginning of an exciting era in American supplies of LNG into Europe that will help diversify the supply system in Eastern Europe in particular. And that’s a good thing for everybody involved."
In February, US company Cheniere Energy announced the departure of the first LNG cargo from its Sabine Pass liquefaction project in Cameron Parish in Louisiana to Brazil.
US energy regulators are considering additional permits for local companies to develop liquefied natural gas facilities, Hochstein told Sputnik.
"There are more requests for approvals in line at the Department of Energy and at FERC [the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission], and we are still dealing with those on a case by case basis, so we could see more," he said.
