American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers issued the following statement on today’s announcement by President Biden and European Commission President von der Leyen establishing a joint task force to help increase U.S. LNG exports to Europe and reduce their dependency on Russian natural gas.

“We welcome the president’s focus on expanding U.S. LNG exports to our European allies during this crisis, and we applaud the administration’s continued leadership in ensuring a unified international response to maximize pressure on Russia through additional sanctions.

“Over the past few months, American producers have significantly expanded LNG shipments to our allies, establishing Europe as the top US LNG export destination. With effective policies on both sides of the Atlantic, we could do even more to support Europe’s long-term energy security and reduce their reliance on Russian energy.

“We stand ready to work with the administration to follow this announcement with meaningful policy actions to support global energy security, including further addressing the backlog of LNG permits, reforming the permitting process, and advancing more natural gas pipeline infrastructure.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: API