Groups Respond to Multi-Million Dollar Loan Approval for LNG Exports

Yesterday, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)—the official export credit agency of the U.S.— insured potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in revolving credit facilities for speculative global commodities trader, Trafigura. Trafigura is one of the largest independent traders of liquefied natural gas, and this loan would support export deals with American LNG producers, Cheniere and Venture Global.

Today’s support represents the latest in the U.S. taxpayer-funded bailout of the fossil fuel industry. The fossil fuel industry has been receiving tens of billions of dollars in subsidies from taxpayers, yet oil and gas companies have earned record profits exporting and selling fossil fuels, including LNG, across the globe. Those profits are then used to finance stock buybacks for their shareholders—driving up energy prices in the United States.

“Despite posting record-breaking profits, Trafigura just received a massive giveaway from the U.S. government that will let them work with the biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exporters in the world to drive up energy prices for Americans and fund stock buybacks for their investors. This is an insult to the communities forced to bear the brunt of LNG buildout and the devastating impacts of climate disasters fueled by fossil fuel dependence, and to families and businesses across the country that will face higher energy prices that come from exporting overseas. It’s time to put an end to the U.S. government’s taxpayer-funded bailouts of risky commodity speculators like Trafigura,” said Talia Calnek-Sugin, Sierra Club.

This loan comes after Trafigura posted a record profit of $5.5 billion in the six months between September 2022 and March 2023 while paying its shareholders $3 billion in bonuses.

“While extreme heat and environmental disasters from the continued use of fossil fuels ravage communities from coast to coast, the U.S. government is financing the companies contributing to the climate crisis. The potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in support to Trafigura will only advance the further buildout of dirty and dangerous liquefied natural gas export facilities that perpetuate environmental injustices in Gulf communities. The Biden administration must follow its commitments to reduce harmful emissions and end overseas fossil fuel finance by putting a stop to global LNG expansion,” said Kate DeAngelis, Friends of the Earth United States.

As the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have made clear, any new oil and gas investment is incompatible with preventing global temperatures from exceeding 1.5ºC. The approval and financing of new LNG facilities will increase oil and gas production, threatening President Biden’s commitment to emissions reduction.