Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will be one of the main areas of focus as the US Senate debates a new energy bill starting on Wednesday.
The bill under consideration is the first major energy legislation in eight years.
Improving the LNG export process and expanding its scope will be among the main items up for discussion.
The Energy Policy Modernization Act, as it is formally called, is co-sponsored by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat.
It passed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, on which both women sit, by an 18-4 vote.
While some amendments are likely to be attached to the bill the expectation is that most of the bill will proceed with bi-partisan support, including for proposals to speed up the permitting of LNG export projects.
The US is committing itself to LNG with a number of specialized terminals (either newly-built or adapted facilities) being approved to process and ship out gas from the abundantly productive shale fields.
