New Biden EPA rules may hinder natural gas exports to Europe, empowering Putin

The Biden administration continues to make misguided decisions regarding energy policy that are strengthening Russia’s geopolitical hand at the expense of Ukraine and other European countries.

This time, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to change existing regulations that will take roughly 50 percent of the liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the United States offline for months or years, just as the Europeans need as many shipments of LNG as possible to have enough fuel for winter.

The graph below shows natural gas storage levels in Europe, which are finally recovering to the average levels seen between 2012-2021. This trend could easily change if the Biden administration decides to reduce export capacity via EPA regulations.

Such a move by Biden would undoubtedly embolden Vladimir Putin to increase his demands, or asking price, for the gas he sells the European markets. There is also a fear that Russia will not restart gas flows through the Nordstream 1 pipeline, which is currently down for annual maintenance.

Putin will have far more geopolitical leverage over Europe if Biden reduces the ability of U.S. gas producers to export their product to the continent. If the Biden administration is so convinced that Vladimir Putin is a bad man, why on Earth would they give him more power?

This administration seems utterly lost. They appear to have zero understanding of how the regulatory actions they have pursued have strengthened our adversaries abroad, while simultaneously making life harder for average Americans.

Perhaps he was actually saying “Build Back Badder.”