HOUSTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Norwegian headquartered

Crown LNG ( CGBS ) is racing against time to develop and start

construction of a liquefied natural gas export plant in the U.S.

before President-elect Donald Trump's second term ends in 2029,

its CEO Swapan Kataria said.

"We were sincerely hoping that he would be there to support

the industry because certainly the old administration was

against it, quite simply," said Kataria on Tuesday in an

interview with Reuters.

Trump has promised to reduce regulations to make it easier for

LNG projects to be approved. The U.S. is already the world's

largest exporter of the superchilled gas and there are several

projects under construction and in the development stage.

Crown LNG ( CGBS ) is hoping to build a 9 million metric tons per

annum (MTPA) LNG facility offshore Texas from which it hopes to

then export the gas to its proposed regasification terminals in

India, Vietnam and Scotland, all of which are still in various

stages of development.

The company has ruled out locating the plant in Louisiana

because it worries about accessing natural gas pipelines over a

25- to 40-year period, and wants to build offshore because it

feels the approval process is quicker than on land and will have

to meet fewer demands than those of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC), Kataria said.

Crown LNG ( CGBS ) believes the Maritime Administration (MARAD) is a

less challenging regulatory environment that favors getting

projects done.

"MARAD has a quicker turnaround than the FERC. FERC has a

lot more expensive process as opposed to MARAD," Kataria said.

Crown is proposing to use a bottom-fixed, gravity-based

structure for its LNG plant to lower costs and reduce its

environmental footprint.

The company's CEO said the strategy of developing its

regasification terminals and selling to smaller end users, like

power plants and fertilizer producers, means it can get many

A-grade counterparties to help raise the debt required for plant

construction.

Crown is also open to buying LNG from the U.S. for its

proposed 7.5 MTPA terminal in India but said U.S. companies must

know there is a cap on the price Indian buyers can pay and

unless they are prepared to work a formula that recognizes that

cap, Indian buyers will continue to purchase during downcycles,

Kataria said.