Energy Transfer LP has filed a request for rehearing with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) after the agency denied an export authorization extension last month for the company’s proposed Lake Charles LNG project in Louisiana.

In the filing, officially published by the DOE Monday, Energy Transfer’s lawyers asked that the agency reconsider its April decision that left the 16.45 million metric tons/year (mmty) project’s future up in the air. Without an extension, Energy Transfer would have to begin construction by 2025 to keep its authorization.

Lake Charles first was granted an export extension in 2020 that expires in December 2025. It had requested another extension to start exports by December 2028, citing issues with the Covid-19 pandemic and market impacts from the...