Liquefied natural gas deemed 'freedom gas' by Energy Department

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has a new name - "freedom gas."

The new moniker comes via a Tuesday press release from the Energy Department discussing "molecules of U.S. freedom." The release touted the department's approval of more exports of “domestically produced natural gas” from the Freeport LNG Terminal in Quintana, Texas.

“The expansion of the Freeport LNG facility is estimated to support up to 3,000 engineering and construction jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs associated with the project,” the department said.

Mark W. Menezes, the undersecretary of energy, said in a statement that increasing exports from the natural gas company was “critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America’s allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy.”

Menezes said the export increases would provide more jobs in the U.S. as well as economic growth and “cleaner air.”

Steven Winberg, the assistant secretary for fossil energy, deemed the department’s approval of the exports “critical to advancing clean energy and the energy security of our allies around the globe.”

“With the U.S. in another year of record-setting natural gas production, I am pleased that the Department of Energy is doing what it can to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported to the world,” Winberg said in a statement.

Exports of liquefied natural gas are expected to double by the end of 2020 and are currently at 5 billion cubic feet a day.

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American natural gas production jumped to a new high in 2018, marking the second straight year of record production. President Trump signed two executive orders to cut red tape that has regulated the construction of new pipelines and LNG terminals.

The U.S. has become the quickest-growing LNG exporter worldwide with China as the “fastest-growing importer of the fuel,” according to Reuters. However, because of the trade war between the U.S. and China, no LNG vessels that sailed from the U.S. have traveled to China, Reuters reported.

Fox Business’ Henry Fernandez contributed to this report.