The Washington Times: Clash over Crimea stokes U.S. energy fight

The Obama administration is under increasing pressure from Western European allies, U.S. lawmakers and energy industry heavyweights, who all point to the crisis in Ukraine as evidence Washington should go further than it has to pump up American oil and gas exports to Europe. 

While the crisis has shone a spotlight on Europe’s deep dependence on Moscow to meet its energy needs, supporters of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline are even seizing on the situation to press the administration to approve the project that they say bolsters U.S. national security.

“We need to send two signals: approve the Keystone pipeline and indicate that we are going to expedite [liquefied natural gas] export permits,” said Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute.  MORE