Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG)

Background

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) is a 501(c)(6) organization formed in 2007 and based in Washington D.C. DeSmog has reported on CLNG’s industry ties, and connection to the American Petroleum Institute (API). CLNG describes itself as a committee of the Natural Gas Supply Association.¹ According to a 2019 WHOIS web registration search, that domain is registered by the Natural Gas Supply Association, however other sources have previously reported it to be earlier registered to API.²

Bill Cooper, of Halliburton Loophole fame,³ was CLNG’s first president. Chris Riedl became executive director of CLNG in January 2016, replacing Michael Nervie.⁴

His bio notes: “Mr. Charlie Riedl has been Senior Vice President at [the] Natural Gas Supply Association since January 20, 2016. […] Prior to joining CLNG, Charlie worked at America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and at a major exploration and production company in various roles focused on natural gas market development and government relations. […] Charlie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from The Ohio State University and lives with his wife and three daughters in Ohio.”⁵

Riedl has promoted LNG exports of “surplus gas, [a] resource that wouldn’t otherwise be used,” calling that a “win-win” for the U.S. and its trading partners, exports that he said should be promoted despite Trump’s protectionist stance.⁶ He also made a “surplus” gas argument to the Washington Post.⁷ (A different industry trade group, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, has taken the opposite stance, calling on the Trump administration to oppose exports.)⁸

Stance on Climate Change

2017

Charlie Riedl has argued that LNG’s “life-cycle emissions are superior to coal’s.”⁹

2016

In 2016, Riedl pushed back against White House CEQ guidance requiring federal agencies to consider climate change during environmental reviews, telling the Washington Examiner the move imposed “greater regulatory uncertainty that will hold the American LNG industry back at a time when it faces fierce competition from […] projects in other countries that are rapidly coming online.” The CLNG had filed public comments with FERC opposing that Obama-era White House guidance.¹⁰

Funding

Tax filings indicate that members pay dues to CLNG.

990 Forms

In 2014, CLNG’s gross receipts totaled $ 1,554,170. That year, it had one employee (paid $90,630) and spent roughly $1.5 million on “other expenses.”

Key People

Bill Cooper was CLNG’s first president. Chris Riedl became executive director of CLNG in January 2016, replacing Michael Nervie.¹¹ ¹²

Actions

January 9, 2024

Politico quoted CLNG executive director Charlie Riedl. He commented on the Department of Energy’s upcoming review on whether natural gas exports are in the nation’s interests given climate change implications:¹³

“Every time they do a study on this, the results are the same: Natural gas exports are in the public interest,” Riedl said. “If they decided to study it again, I’d expect the results would be the same.”¹⁴

July 2020

Charlie Riedl, executive director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, commented, “The policy of a Biden administration or a Trump administration might not be so different in the sense of leveraging exports of gas and oil as a foreign policy tool.” His quote was part of The New York Times reporting on the oil and gas industry’s outlook of Joe Biden’s energy plan.¹⁵

July 11, 2019

Charlie Riedl, representing CLNG, is on the witness list to a full committee hearing on “the important role of U.S. LNG in evolving global markets.”¹⁶

“The purpose of the hearing is to examine evolving global natural gas markets, the increasingly important role of U.S. liquefied natural gas, and the competitive outlook,” the description reads on the U.S Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources website.

March 20-22, 2018

Charlie Riedl was a session chair/moderator at the March 20-22 CWC World LNG & Gas Series in Houston, TX. He moderated a panel discussion titled “Will LNG as a Fuel Become a Relevant Source of Demand in the Region?”¹⁷

The session description included the following topics:

Framing the opportunity: What are the main benefits and challenges of LNG as a transportation fuel?
What can the industry do to drive LNG demand in the transportation sector in the Americas?
Exploring current opportunities and emerging regional markets
- Ports and hubs in the Americas: Jacksonville and Los Angeles
- Small-scale and maritime opportunities in the Caribbean
How is regulation evolving in the US maritime space and what developments are needed?
Analysing the cost of LNG bunkering and its competitiveness against liquid fuels
What is the outlook for demand growth in the next 10 years in the region?”

January 19, 2018

Charlie Riedl testified before Congress on behalf of CLNG on January 19, 2018 (which DeSmog covered,¹⁸ transcript here).¹⁹

Riedle concluded: “The promise of more LNG facilities in the United States also brings the promise of a new era benefiting the U.S. economy and our global allies. Our enormous natural gas resource base ideally positions the United States to compete on a global level for LNG market share while still providing an affordable and environmentally advantageous fuel source for U.S. customers. Free and open trade of U.S. LNG sends the important signal of unencumbered exports to the global market. Artificially limiting LNG exports could undermine commitments to free and open markets as well as lead to complaints in international trade cases in the future.

“A legislative solution to the situation would give companies awaiting an export permit greater regulatory certainty and a clear timetable for moving forward with capital intensive projects – resulting in a boost to the American economy. A concrete regulatory process also signals to the rest of the world that the United States is ready to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the comings months and years. “

According to its website, CLNG’s Members are:

Member	2017	2018	2019
Anadarko		Y	Y
BP	Y	Y	Y
Cheniere		Y	Y
Chevron	Y	Y	Y
Constellation		Y	Y
Dominion	Y	Y	Y
ENGIE	Y	Y
ExxonMobil	Y	Y	Y
Freeport LNG	Y	Y	Y
Golden Pass LNG	Y	Y	Y
Jordan Cove LNG	Y	Y	Y
Mitsubishi Corporation	Y	Y	Y
NextDecade			Y
Shell	Y	Y	Y
TOTAL	Y	Y	Y

Contact & Address

The organization’s 2014 990 showed its address as:

1620 Eye St. NW
No. 700
Washington, DC 20006

That office building is less than two blocks from the White House, and it’s an address that CLNG shared with the Natural Gas Supply Association (which it merged with in 2016).

CLNG tweets under the handle @LNGfacts, where it has 8,313 followers. Mr. Riedl (@charlieriedl) has 238 followers. It has posted a number of reports suggesting that LNG is “helping the environment by reducing #GHG emissions”:

Learn how LNG is helping the environment by reducing #GHG emissions https://t.co/mdFyLqIzzo pic.twitter.com/1sRgCeDdoW

— Center for LNG (@LNGfacts) April 5, 2018

Read the full report “LNG and Coal Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” here and learn how #LNG is reducing emissions and improving the environment https://t.co/5aOmRkZhS9 pic.twitter.com/Hx8fTYNVvh

— Center for LNG (@LNGfacts) April 5, 2018

Other Resources

Resources

1
“About CLNG,” Center for Liquefied Natural Gas. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/25jAB
2
Domain Dossier for lngfacts.org via CentralOps.net. Search performed July 10, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
3
Dory Hippauf. “Frackin’ Front Groups and PR Campaigns,” No Fracking Way, October 23, 2012. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/wTh2J
4
Steve Horn. “Architect of Federal Fracking Loophole May Head Trump Environmental Council,” DeSmog, March 17, 2017.
5
“Executive Director,” Center for Liquified Natural Gas. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yMBki
6
“Charlie Riedl, Executive Director, CLNG,” CWC World NG & Gas Series 17th Americas Summit. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/zE04g
7
Dino Grandoni. “The Energy 202: Trump’s latest energy push may run afoul of another big priority: Boosting manufacturing,” The Washington Post, June 28, 2017. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IKe59
8
Zainab Calcuttawala. “Manufacturers Say Trump Nat Gas Export Push Betrays ‘America First’,” OilPrice.com. August 16, 2017. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/MB94z
9
Ellen M. Gilmer and Jenny Mandel. “Increased LNG exports would spell trouble for climate — study,” E&E News, December 15, 2017. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/ZWY0F
10
John Siciliano. “WH wants all agencies to consider climate change,” Washington Examiner, August 2, 2016. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KyfYq
11
Dory Hippauf. “Frackin’ Front Groups and PR Campaigns,” No Fracking Way, October 23, 2012. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/wTh2J
12
“WASHINGTON — The Center for LNG (CLNG) has named Charlie Riedl executive director,” BIC Magazine, March 1, 2016. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/Bu8Xu
13
Ben Lefebvre. “Biden’s aides weigh climate test for natural gas exports,” Politico, January 9, 2024. Archived January 11, 2024.
14
Ben Lefebvre. “Biden’s aides weigh climate test for natural gas exports,” Politico, January 9, 2024. Archived January 11, 2024.
15
Clifford Krauss and Ivan Penn. “Oil and Gas Groups See ‘Some Common Ground’ in Biden Energy Plan,” The New York Times, July 28, 2020. Archived October 5, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/ysyPo
16
“Full Committee Hearing on the Important Role of U.S. LNG in Evolving Global Markets,” U.S Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/Qa0qM
17
CWC-LNG America’s Draft Programme, (PDF) LNG Americas, March 15, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
18
Steve Horn. “Congressional Committee Members Pushing LNG Exports Bills Have Deep Financial, Revolving Door Ties,” DeSmog, January 22, 2018.
19
“LEGISLATION ADDRESSING LNG EXPORTS AND PURPA MODERNIZATION” (PDF), Testimony of Charlie Riedl, Executive Director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, before the U. S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, January 19, 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

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