The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. said a foreign borrower is requesting a $225 million direct loan to support the export of about $173 million in U.S. aluminum manufacturing equipment and services to a smelter in the United Arab Emirates. Available information indicates that the majority of this new foreign production allowed by the new equipment will be sold in the Netherlands, Japan, United Arab Emirates, the U.S., South Korea, and Thailand. Comments can be submitted to economic.impact@exim.gov or by mail to 811 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Room 442, Washington, DC 20571, by Feb. 13.

Shell US Gas & Power and Kinder Morgan's Southern Liquefaction Company said they will form a limited liability company to develop a natural gas liquefaction plant in two phases at Southern LNG Company's existing Elba Island LNG Terminal near Savannah, Ga. They said they also agreed to modify Kinder Morgan's El Paso Pipeline Partners's (EPB) Elba Express Pipeline and Elba Island LNG Terminal to physically transport natural gas to the terminal and to load the LNG onto ships for export. EPB will own 51 percent of the entity and operate the facility. Shell will own the remaining 49 percent and subscribe to 100 percent of the liquefaction capacity, they said. The project is expected to have liquefaction capacity of about 2.5 million tons per year (mtpa) of LNG. In June 2012, the Elba Island terminal received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to export up to 4 mtpa of LNG to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. In August 2012, the terminal submitted a filing to the DOE seeking approval to export up to 4 mtpa) of LNG to non-FTA countries. Phase I of the project, about 1.5 mtpa (210 Mmcfd), requires no additional DOE approval, they said.

The Department of Energy should move forward with liquefied natural gas exports, said the Western Energy Alliance in comments to the DoE (http://bit.ly/XCQVbZ) in response to a study performed by NERA Economic Consulting for DoE on LNG export terminal licenses. The study said that "in all scenarios, America benefits from LNG exports in terms of increased economic growth and job creation," said Kathleen Sgamma, the alliance vice president-government & public affairs. She said some companies have criticized LNG exports and "exaggerated the potential price increases" but said they have been taking advantage of artificially low natural gas prices, and the likely price increases "are very modest."

The Bureau of Industry Security will hold a partially open meeting of the Materials Technical Advisory Committee Feb. 7 in Washington, D.C. In the public session, the committee will hear remarks from BIS management, hear a presentation on the impact of Australia Group and Wassenaar membership for Mexico, and hear reports on the Composite Working Group and regime-based activities. The open session will be accessible via teleconference to 20 participants on a first come, first served basis. To join the conference, submit inquiries to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov no later than Jan. 31.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is asking for applications from industry representatives to join its export control Technical Advisory Committees. The seven TACs advise BIS on technical parameters for Export Administration Regulations controls. Members serve four-year terms, and must get secret-level security clearances before appointment. Each TAC meets about four times per year. To apply, send a resume to Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov by Jan. 28, 2014.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is issuing a public notice that it's making a long-term loan or financial guarantee in excess of $100 million to support the export of U.S. manufactured commercial aircraft to Turkey. The principal supplier is The Boeing Company, for Boeing 737 aircraft.

The Office of Management and Budget approved Export Control Reform’s final “beast” rule, as it is known at the Bureau of Industry and Security, on Jan. 18. The final rule will be part of the first 38(f) Congressional notification sent by the State Department. It includes the final versions of the transition rule, the “specially designed” definition, and transfers of gas turbine engines and aircraft from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List.

The Census Bureau sent out AES Broadcast #2013005 as part of a series of monthly educational broadcast messages on fatal errors in the Automated Export System. This month Census is highlighting AES error codes 004 (Filer / Transmitter Not Authorized To Send) and 666 (ECCN Must Be From Approved List). The broadcast covers the reasons for these error messages and how to resolve them, as follows:

The Department of Energy said it received the following liquefied natural gas export applications:

The Bureau of Industry and Security denied the export privileges of two men, and added both to the Denied Persons List, after they were convicted for two unconnected illegal export schemes. Jerome Stuart Pendzich of Tennessee, currently serving a 46-month sentence for the attempted export of level IV ballistics small arms protective inserts to Colombia without the required State Department authorization, will have his export privileges denied for the 10 years ending Oct. 12, 2021. BIS also denied the export privileges of James Allen Larrison of Pennsylvania, sentenced to 24 months of probation for attempting to export two Hitachi junction units to Iran without the required Office of Foreign Assets Control authorization, for the five years ending June 23, 2016.