OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senior DOE official to talk natural-gas exports

By Zack Colman and Ben Geman - 01/15/13 07:01 PM ET

STATE OF PLAY: A senior Energy Department (DOE) official will discuss the United States’s role in energy export markets during a Wednesday event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The event arrives as DOE is weighing politically controversial applications to greatly expand U.S. natural-gas exports.

David Sandalow, secretary for policy and international affairs with DOE, will offer the keynote address. As the administration’s emissary, Sandalow might offer clues as to where President Obama is heading on liquefied natural-gas (LNG) exports.

For his part, Obama has said he wants to harness the domestic oil-and-gas boom to turn the U.S. into a major exporter.

The Chamber is pushing the White House to expand LNG exports. Along with the oil-and-gas industry and a good deal of lawmakers from both parties, the Chamber says exports would provide an economic shot in the arm.

But some senior Democrats, joined by a handful of major chemical and manufacturing companies, have urged caution on exports, saying it would increase natural-gas prices on consumers and industry.

The event also will feature two panels — one on the implications U.S. energy has on global trade, and the other on global supply chain.

For more on the event, click here.

ALSO WEDNESDAY: Energy lobbyists take stock of industry

A parade of energy trade group chiefs will give their take on the “State of the Energy Industry” at a half-day National Press Club Forum hosted by the U.S. Energy Association.

Speakers include top officials with the Edison Electric Institute, American Petroleum Institute, National Mining Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, America’s Natural Gas Alliance and several other groups.

Click here for more info.

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