Sponsors (12)
The bill reduces export permitting and compliance burdens for LNG bunkering—lowering costs and easing federal workload for U.S. ports and energy firms—at the cost of weaker export oversight that could strain domestic supply in tight markets and complicate environmental and cross-border coordination.
U.S. ports, maritime fuel suppliers, and commercial shipping companies can supply LNG for vessel bunkering in U.S. waters or on the high seas without export permitting, lowering compliance costs and potentially reducing fuel costs for vessels that bunker in U.S. ports.
Energy companies face fewer regulatory export requirements when providing LNG for ship bunkering domestically or on the high seas, simplifying operations and reducing administrative and compliance costs.
FERC and other federal permit-review processes will have a reduced workload and fewer cross-border export classifications to assess because many bunkering transfers are not treated as exports under the bill.
Households and businesses could face higher domestic natural gas prices during tight markets if more LNG is supplied to foreign-flagged vessels without export oversight, reducing available domestic supply.
Limiting FERC's export jurisdiction for many bunkering transfers reduces regulatory oversight of cross-border fuel flows and may weaken environmental and safety controls that are often tied to export permitting.
Treating high-seas bunkering as non-exports could increase marine fuel deliveries to foreign countries without bilateral coordination, complicating international fuel regulation and climate emissions reporting.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Excludes most LNG bunkering transfers to vessels from the statute's definition of "export" unless the transfer takes place in foreign territorial or inland waters.
Official title: To amend the Natural Gas Act to clarify the treatment of bunkering as an export, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 25, 2025 by Laurel Lee · Last progress July 25, 2025
Changes the federal definition of "export" in the Natural Gas Act so that transferring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a vessel for use as marine fuel (bunkering) is not treated as an export unless the transfer happens in the territorial sea or inland waters of a foreign country. In practice, ship-to-ship and shore-to-ship LNG bunkering that occurs inside U.S. waters or on the high seas will not count as an export under the specified statute, removing export-related treatment for those transfers.