U.S. regulators were well within their rights to grant extensions to natural gas projects, a federal appeals court found.

FERC’s decision to extend the construction deadlines for projects being undertaken by National Fuel Gas Supply Co. and Cheniere Energy Inc. “were not arbitrary and capricious,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled on March 29.

“To the contrary, the decisions were reasonable and adequately supported by the record evidence,” the decision stated.

[Get Better Intel: Where are natural gas prices in Canada heading in the next few years? NGI’s Forward Look now includes Westcoast Station 2! Don’t delay in getting critical natural gas price data. Request a trial now.]

NGOs had filed petitions claiming that the Federal Energy Regulatory...