HOUSTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Commonwealth LNG has asked

federal regulators for a four-year extension to construct and

begin exporting liquefied natural gas from a proposed export

facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, a regulatory document

shows.

In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,

Commonwealth said the extension was needed due to an approval

pause implemented by former U.S. President Joe Biden last year.

While President Donald Trump lifted the freeze earlier this

year, the company said it cannot meet the present deadline of

November 2027 and wants it extended to December 2031.

"These delays were beyond the control of Commonwealth and

unavoidably affected Commonwealth's ability to advance the

Project on the schedule contemplated when its application was

filed," the company said in the filing.

Commonwealth has so far sold 5 million metric tons per annum

of planned capacity but is still short of selling out the

total 9.5 mtpa that would come online upon completion. LNG

developers usually try to sell most of the future flows in

long-term agreements before giving the financial greenlight for

a plant to be built.

Commonwealth did not immediately respond to a

question about whether the excess capacity that has not been

sold yet also played a role in the request for more time. The

company has sales agreements with EQT, Glencore ( GLCNF )

, JERA and PETRONAS.

The company has previously said it wants to make a final

investment decision on the construction of the plant before the

end of the year.

The FERC said if the extension request is contested, it will

aim to issue a decision within 45 days.