,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #agg #aafth         
,,congress  #ast ,session  ,s4 #ajfd    
,report ,no4 #aaf-ge ,,in ,,the ,,senate
 ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april   
#h1 #bjai,mr4 ,manchin introduced the   
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,natural ,resources  ,august #af1   
#bjai,reported under authority of the   
order of the ,senate of ,august #a1     
#bjai1 by ,ms4 ,murkowski1 with an      
amendment,insert the part printed in    
italic  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the      
,secretary of ,energy to conduct a study
 on the national security implications  
of building ethane and other            
natural-gas-liquids-related             
petrochemical infrastructure in the     
,united ,states1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,appalachian ,energy for   
,national ,security ,act4  #b4 ,findings
 ,congress finds that--  7#a7 the       
,energy ,information ,administration    
projects that-- 7,a7 domestic natural   

gas production from shale resources will
 more than double between #bjag and     
#bjej2 and  7,b7 continued development  
of the ,marcellus and ,utica shale plays
 in the eastern ,united ,states is the  
main driver of growth in total domestic 
natural gas production across most      
scenarios2  7#b7 the ,department of     
,energy has found that-- 7,a7 the shale 
resource endowment of the ,appalachian  
,basin is so bountiful that1 if the     
,appalachian ,basin were an independent 
country1 the ,appalachian ,basin would  
be the third largest producer of natural
 gas in the world2  7,b7 with more than 
#cjj1jjj1jjj1jjj of net revenue1        
#ijj1jjj workers1 and #g1ejj            
establishments1 ,appalachia and         
surrounding areas account for nearly a  
third of ,united ,states activities in  
#ac petrochemical industries2 and  7,c7 
the aggregate revenue growth from       
commodity chemicals that can be derived 
from ethane 7commonly known as the value
 chain7 is projected to be              

#gaf1jjj1jjj1jjj between #bjah and      
#bjdj2  7#c7 geographical diversity and 
structural resilience is critical1 given
 that the ,department of ,energy has    
found that--  7,a7 #ie percent of       
ethylene production capacity in the     
,united ,states currently exists in the 
,states of ,louisiana and ,texas2  7,b7 
this concentration of assets and        
operations may pose a strategic risk to 
the economy of the ,united ,states as   
extreme weather events impacting the    
production of petrochemicals 7including 
plastic resin7 on the ,gulf ,coast can  
limit the availability of feedstocks to 
manufacturers across the ,united        
,states2 and  7,c7 in ,august #bjag1    
many ,gulf ,coast refineries and        
petrochemical facilities shut down1     
which affected #ed percent of ,united   
,states ethylene production and #cf     
percent of ,united ,states ethylene     
consumption capacity2  7#d7 there are   
economic efficiencies and economic      
security benefits to maintaining all    

elements of the value chain for ethane  
and other natural gas liquids in        
clusters in various geographical        
regions1 provided each cluster includes 
natural gas production1 natural gas     
processing plants1 natural gas liquids  
fractionation plants1 natural gas       
liquids transportation infrastructure1  
natural gas liquids storage1 and ethane 
and other natural gas liquids           
petrochemical infrastructure2  7#e7     
there are economic efficiencies to      
building ethane and other               
natural-gas-liquids-related             
petrochemical infrastructure1 including 
storage and distribution systems1 within
 the ,appalachian region1 because of the
 close proximity of the region to the   
industrial ,midwest and manufacturers in
 the ,eastern ,united ,states that use  
petrochemicals1 such as plastic resins1 
as manufacturing inputs2 and  7#f7 it is
 a priority of the ,united ,states to   
minimize effects of volatility in any   
individual market by maintaining--  7,a7

 a robust domestic natural gas liquids  
resource base2  7,b7 the requisite      
physical assets along the value chain   
for ethane and other natural gas        
liquids2 and  7,c7 diversity in         
customers1 both domestically and        
internationally4  #c4 ,study and reports
 on building ethane and other           
natural-gas-liquids-related             
petrochemical infrastructure  7a7 ,study
  7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a   
year after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary of ,energy        
7referred to in this section as the     
,secretary71 in consultation with the   
,secretary of ,defense1 the ,secretary  
of the ,treasury1 and the heads of other
 relevant ,federal departments and      
agencies and stakeholders1 shall conduct
 a study assessing the potential        
national and economic security impacts  
of building ethane and other            
natural-gas-liquids-related             
petrochemical infrastructure in the     
geographical vicinity of the ,marcellus1

 ,utica1 and ,rogersville shale plays in
 the ,united ,states4  7#b7 ,contents   
,the study conducted under paragraph    
7#a7 shall include-- 7,a7 the           
identification of potential benefits of 
the proposed infrastructure to national 
and economic security1 including the    
identification of potential risks to    
national and economic security of       
significant foreign ownership and       
control of ,united ,states domestic     
petrochemical resources2 and  7,b7 an   
examination of1 with respect to the     
proposed infrastructure-- 7i7 types of  
additional infrastructure needed to     
fully optimize the potential national   
security benefits2  7ii7 whether        
geopolitical diversity in areas to which
 the ethane and other natural gas       
liquids will be exported from the       
producing region would undermine or     
bolster national security2  7iii7 the   
necessity of evaluating the public      
interest with respect to exports of     
ethane1 propane1 butane1 and other      

natural gas liquids1 to ensure the      
potential strategic national and        
economic security benefits are preserved
 within the ,united ,states2 and  7iv7  
the potential benefits1 with respect to 
significant weather impacts1 compared to
 other regions1 of locating the proposed
 infrastructure in the geographical     
vicinity of the ,marcellus1 ,utica1 and 
,rogersville shale plays4  7b7 ,reports 
7#a7 ,status reports ,prior to          
completion of the study under subsection
 7a71 the ,committees on ,energy and    
,natural ,resources and ,armed ,services
 of the ,senate and the ,committees on  
,energy and ,commerce and ,armed        
,services of the ,house of              
,representatives1 from time to time1 may
 request and receive from the ,secretary
 status reports with respect to the     
study1 including any findings4  7#b7    
,submission and publication of report   
,on completion of the study under       
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall--  
7,a7 submit to the ,committees on       

,energy and ,natural ,resources and     
,armed ,services of the ,senate and the 
,committees on ,energy and ,commerce and
 ,armed ,services of the ,house of      
,representatives a report describing the
 results of the study2 and  7,b7 publish
 the report on the website of the       
,department of ,energy4  ,august #af1   
#bjai,reported with an amendment