Aug 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on

Friday it had granted Energy Transfer ( ET ) additional time to

start exports from the Lake Charles LNG facility under its

non-Free Trade Agreement export permit.

"On the heels of President Trump's historic trade

negotiations, demand for secure, reliable American LNG is

surging," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a press release

announcing the extension.

Once fully constructed, the Lake Charles LNG project will be

capable of exporting up to 2.33 billion cubic feet per day of

natural gas as LNG, according to the release.

(Writing by Richard Valdmanis)