LNG Trade Group Drops Lobbying Firm After Policy Winds Shift in Its Favor

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas filed an LDA termination ending its lobbying relationship with Lot Sixteen LLC, effective December 12, 2025. The lobbying disclosure termination was signed January 13, 2026, and reported $0 in compensation — standard for filings that mark the close of an engagement rather than new activity.

The move comes roughly 11 months after the Trump administration reversed the Biden-era freeze on LNG export approvals — the very policy fight that likely drove the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas lobbying engagement in the first place.

Why It Matters

A Small Client Leaves a Mid-Sized Shop

Lot Sixteen LLC lobbying disclosures show the firm reported approximately $6.2 million in revenue across 52 clients in 2025, according to background data. The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas — a trade association with annual revenue of roughly $857,000, funded by membership dues from companies like Cheniere Energy, Sempra Infrastructure, and ConocoPhillips — was one client among many.

The lobbying registration termination filing lists no lobbyists, no specific issues, and no legislation, making it difficult to assess the scope of work Lot Sixteen performed during the active engagement. Prior quarterly filings would contain those details, but the termination itself is a clean break with no trailing activity.

No data in the current disclosures indicates that the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas has hired a replacement firm to handle the same LNG lobbying disclosure work. The organization may be routing advocacy through the Natural Gas Supply Association, its parent organization, or through other retained firms not captured in this filing cycle.

Broader Context

The Policy Fight That Defined This Engagement

The LNG industry's lobbying posture over the past two years has been shaped almost entirely by one event: the Biden administration's January 2024 decision to pause all pending LNG export approvals to non-free-trade-agreement countries. That freeze — which halted the pipeline of new terminal authorizations — was described at the time as an existential threat to the sector's growth trajectory.

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, which represents the full LNG value chain from producers to terminal operators, was at the center of the industry's response. Its core policy priorities — expanding export approvals, modernizing facility regulations dating back to 1980, and streamlining the multi-agency regulatory framework spanning DOE, FERC, the Coast Guard, and DOT — all ran headlong into the pause.

Then the political landscape changed.

A Rapid Reversal

On Inauguration Day 2025, President Trump signed executive orders aimed at energy production, including directives to lift the LNG export pause. By January 21, DOE had officially returned to "regular order" on pending applications. By mid-2025, FERC had issued 30 notices to proceed with construction and service for natural gas infrastructure, including 10 LNG export terminals.

DOE Secretary Wright declared a "golden era of American energy dominance," with LNG exports as a centerpiece. The department also finalized the Biden-era environmental and economic study on LNG exports — but with pro-export conclusions, finding robust supply, GDP growth, job creation, and national security benefits.

In short: the policy crisis that likely animated the Lot Sixteen LLC lobbying engagement was resolved by executive action, not legislation.

No Bills Moved, No Hearings Flagged

Historical lobbying disclosures show the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas has lobbied on several LNG-related bills over the years, including the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act and the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act. None of those bills advanced beyond introduction.

No congressional hearings in the past year mentioned the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas. No member communications referencing the organization were found in available records. There is no indication that congressional activity — or lack thereof — contributed directly to the lobbying disclosure termination.

The Firm's Political Profile

Lot Sixteen's client roster has historically included organizations such as the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Advanced Energy Economy, a clean energy group. That profile suggests the firm's strength lies in Democratic-aligned or center-left policy networks — relationships that would have been valuable when the LNG industry needed to engage a Democratic White House on the export pause.

Under the current administration, those connections carry less weight. The regulatory decisions that matter most to the LNG sector — DOE export authorizations, FERC permitting — are now being made by appointees who have publicly embraced expanded fossil fuel production.

Industry-wide oil and gas lobbying spending reportedly dropped from $44 million in late 2024 to $38 million in Q1 2025, according to background data — consistent with reduced urgency when the regulatory environment is favorable.

Bottom Line

The Center for Liquefied Natural Gas ended its relationship with Lot Sixteen LLC after the core policy threat driving the engagement — the Biden LNG export pause — was eliminated by the incoming Trump administration. No replacement firm appears in current disclosure data. No lobbyists, legislation, or issue areas were listed on the termination filing.

The LNG industry still faces live policy questions: outdated facility regulations need modernizing, environmental groups continue to challenge LNG expansion in court, and executive orders can be reversed by future administrations. But the acute crisis has passed, and with it, apparently, the need for this particular lobbying arrangement.

CLNG, which operates with just 2 to 10 employees and shares staff with the Natural Gas Supply Association, may well still be lobbying — just not through Lot Sixteen.