Letter from Houston: pragmatism versus rhetoric

The U.S.’s controversial pause on LNG licensing has sparked criticism from CEOs and widely divergent interpretations from politicians.

Politics tends to be more dramatic and theatrical in the US than in the UK. But does the energy sector benefit from adopting this rhetorical flair and aggression? This year’s CERAWeek conference in Houston in March attracted both top Republican and Democratic politicians, as well as a host of CEOs and industry figures. One of the main topics of discussion was the federal government’s decision to allow a pause in LNG development, a decision which was widely – and unsurprisingly – unpopular at the conference, but which was nevertheless described and interpreted in very different ways by various speakers and delegates. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm presented a cheerfully optimistic version of federal policy, emphasizing