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On November 11, Sempra LNG, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, submitted an export proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Sempra explained in a press release,

Sempra Energy has become the sixth US company, and fourth in the US Gulf, with formal intentions to export US natural gas as LNG (liquefied natural gas), having filed a request with US regulators…The California-based company asked the US Department of Energy (DOE) for consent to send up to 1.7 billion cubic feet (bcf)/day (0.05 million cubic metres/day) to free-trade-friendly countries for 20 years. Sempra said the [this] was the first in a two-part process, with a request to export to non-free-trade nations to follow.

This comes on the heels of the huge announcement by Cheniere Energy, Inc. and BG Group, in which the two corporations agreed to work together to export natural gas from the Sabine Pass LNG Export Terminal located on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana to the global market. DeSmogBlog covered that deal in depth in an article titled, "Massive Natural Gas Export Deal Inked by BG Group, So Much for Industry's 'Domestic Energy' Claims."

Sempra's prospective LNG export facility is located on the Calcasieu Channel, 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Hackberry, La, which is approximately 148 miles east of Houston, Texas, and 230 miles west of New Orleans, Louisiana. It appears much of the gas will be shipped off to Europe, as in August 2005, Sempra LNG signed an agreement with Eni, an Italian oil and gas conglomerate, to supply 40 percent of their LNG export capacity to Eni. 

Fracking for unconventional gas for "energy independence" and "national security" purposes? Once again, the facts reveal the contrary.

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On the same day Hilary Clinton released her plan to reduce the US addiction to foreign oil imports and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the CEO of the largest oil company in the world is balking at the pursuit for energy independence.

Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, has hit out at "isolationism" in energy policy (full article is firewalled) arguing that attempts to pursue energy independence are futile and counter-productive.

Tillerson stated that:

Regardless, no conceivable combination of demand moderation or domestic supply development can realistically close the gap and eliminate Americans' need for imports."

His remarks, made at the World Energy Congress in Rome, provided support for calls from Opec, the oil producers' cartel, for what the group calls "security of demand".