By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
WASHINGTON, DC — A Biden administration measure that has been decried for months by oil and gas industry stakeholders has been paused by a court order.
A U.S. district court judge in Louisiana on Monday granted a preliminary injunction putting a halt to the administration’s order pausing pending decisions on exports of liquefied natural gas to non-fair-trade countries.
The stay came as the result of a challenge brought by a coalition of 16 states, including West Virginia.
The ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Lake Charles Division noted the states had shown “evidence of harm” as a result of the policy, “… specifically to Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia in the loss of revenues, market share and deprivation of a procedural right.”
West Virginia is the nation’s fifth-largest producer of energy and the fourth-largest producer of natural gas, according to information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
