The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Wednesday that it had authorized additional exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from two major facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast to help Europe alleviate reliance on Russian energy.

"While U.S. exporters are already exporting at or near their maximum capacity, with today's issuances, every operating U.S. LNG export project has approval from DOE to export its full capacity to any country where not prohibited by U.S. law or policy," the DOE said in a statement.

The DOE issued approvals allowing major supplier Cheniere Energy to export the equivalent of 0.72 billion cubic feet per day of the supercooled fuel from its Sabine Pass, Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas, terminals to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S., including all of Europe.

Previously the terminals were authorized to export the gas only to countries with free trade agreements, including Canada, Mexico, Australia, and more than a dozen others in Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America.

The authorizations mean every operating U.S. LNG export project now has approval to export its full capacity to any country not prohibited by U.S. law or policy, the DOE said in a press release. U.S. LNG remains an important component of global energy security, and DOE remains committed to finding ways to help our trading partners with the energy supplies they need while continuing to work to mitigate the impact of climate change, the release said.

U.S. efforts to alleviate Europe's Russian reliance & climate change concerns

In 2021, Russia provided around 30 to 40 percent of Europe's gas, totaling about 18 billion cubic feet per day.

Before Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, the U.S. had talked with LNG exporting countries and companies about contingency plans to keep the fuel flowing to Europe.

"This authorization will allow for additional operational flexibility for us and our customers during this pivotal time and for decades to come," Cheniere said in an e-mailed statement.

U.S. lawmakers and energy industry trade groups had called on the Biden administration to ramp up natural gas and oil exports to Europe which faces an energy crunch exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

White House efforts to boost U.S. LNG exports were proceeding slowly, however, because of concerns about the impact on climate change of projects that could last decades, government and industry sources said last week.

The DOE said U.S. LNG is an important component of global energy security, and with an expected rise in exports, it is "particularly focused on driving down methane emissions in the oil and gas sector both domestically and abroad."

The U.S., the top global exporter of LNG, is expected to export an additional 20 percent beyond current levels by the end of 2022 as more capacity comes online.

(With input from Reuters)