HOUSTON, May 21 (Reuters) - A Mexican energy developer

is seeking U.S. permission to export gas to Mexico, turn it into

liquefied natural gas (LNG) and send it to countries with U.S.

free-trade agreements, its filing with the U.S. Department of

Energy showed.

Mexico-based Gato Negro Permitium Uno and partners

including Houston-based Big River Energy plan to construct four

LNG processing plants in Manzanillo on Mexico's Pacific coast to

produce up to 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, the

company said.

Gato Negro began the Mexican permitting process in June

2022, it said in the May 10 filing. Big River was granted

authority by the DOE in late 2022 to export gas to Mexico for

two years via pipeline.

The project is the latest in a series of developments to

convert U.S. gas into LNG and export it from Mexico's Atlantic

and Pacific coasts to meet strong global demand for the

superchilled gas.

Nine other onshore and floating LNG production facilities

are planned in Mexico, mostly to process U.S. gas, promising to

make the country one of the largest exporters of LNG in Latin

America and the Caribbean. The first, an offshore project by New

Fortress Energy ( NFE ), is already producing LNG.

Gato Negro is requesting authorization to supply 647 million

cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) of feed gas through TC Energy's ( TRP )

Guadalajara-Manzanillo pipeline for 20 years. Operations would

begin in September 2027, with LNG exports reaching 556 million

cf/d.

Gato Negro has not yet entered into agreements to receive

the U.S. gas nor sell the resulting LNG to final customers, the

company's application showed.

The company plans to sign one or more supply agreements with

natural gas producers and marketers in the Permian Basin and

potentially other producing areas in Texas.

"Maintaining this flexibility to acquire natural gas

supplies from multiple producers on different terms will allow

the applicant to access a diversity of natural gas supplies on

favorable economic terms," Gato Negro said in its application.