WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. has extended the

comment period on a federal study of the economic and

environmental impacts of the booming natural gas export business

as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to protect

approvals from any legal actions.

The U.S. Department of Energy said late on Tuesday that it

is extending the comment period from Feb. 18 to March 20 in

order to get "appropriate stakeholder input."

In his campaign, Trump had promised swift action on

reversing former President Joe Biden's pause on the LNG export

approvals to big markets in Asia and Europe.

Reuters reported on Jan. 7 that Trump advisers had urged him

to take a patient approach to restarting approvals for LNG

exports, fearing rapid approvals would only get overturned in

court.

Trump's advisers had considered an extension to allow for

time to challenge the study and thwart any potential lawsuits

when they approve the pending export permits.

While the U.S. became the world's largest LNG exporter in

2023, Biden's moratorium delayed projects including Venture

Global's CP2 project, the Commonwealth LNG plant, and Energy

Transfer's ( ET ), Lake Charles complex, all in Louisiana.

Biden had ordered the pause about a year ago in order to

conduct the study, which his administration said showed that

government should be cautious about the climate impacts of

unfettered LNG exports.

The DOE also said it directed the office of fossil energy

carbon management to resume consideration of pending LNG export

applications.