WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of

Energy approved an extension of a permit for exports of

liquefied natural gas from a Golden Pass LNG LLC project being

built in Texas, the agency said on Wednesday.

The approval will grant additional time to begin LNG exports

from the project under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas. The

project, owned by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil ( XOM ),

is set to begin exporting as early as later this year, and once

up, will become the ninth large export terminal in the U.S., the

DOE said.