The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has given Veresen Inc, a Calgary, Alberta-based energy infrastructure company, approval to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Jordan Cove plant in Coos Bay, Oregon, to

countries with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement.

This conditional approval to export from the U.S., the seventh to date - as U.S. output hits record highs -would allow LNG exports of 0.8 billion cubic feet (cbf) per day from the Oregon terminal for up to 20 years, potentially to importers across Asia.

Pending construction approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the first U.S. West Coast project outside Alaska to receive DOE approval, could go online in 2017. The next project on the list for approval is LNG Development Company's Oregon LNG project. 

Debates over LNG exports have intensified in recent weeks as tensions in Ukraine accelerate. While companies have urged U.S. officials to allow speed up of gas exports of U.S. natural gas to Europe as Russia takes control of Crimea, observers said it is unlikely that Jordan Cove on the West Coast, would help supply Europe.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approved LNG exports from Sempra Energy's Cameron terminal in Louisiana, the sixth of its kind since 2011. Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass project in Louisiana was the first to receive approval in 2011 and is the only plant currently under construction.

KOGAS Eyes More Shale, Long-term Contracts to Meet Demand

Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) meanwhile has said it is considering investing more in unconventional gas fields including shale assets as it gears up to meet double-digit growth in demand by 2020.

The South Korean company is the world's largest corporate buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Demand for natural gas from the country's electricity utilities is expected to top 45 million t by 2020, up from an estimated 41 million t of LNG equivalent estimated for 2014, Jang Seok-hyo, president and CEO of KOGAS, told media on the sidelines of an international gas conference.

Most of the 39.9 million t of LNG consumed in South Korea last year was imported, according to customs data.

KOGAS is also eyeing tapping unconventional gas fields to procure an additional 7 million t/y by 2020, Jang said. The executive said the company has fundamentally agreed with Japanese firms to buy together without competing over prices, if additional gas is available.