WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday it has granted a license to export liquefied natural gas for Commonwealth LNG in Louisiana, the first approval of exports of the resource after former President Joe Biden paused them early last year.
The exports are approved to markets in Asia and Europe.
Trump also signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Friday creating a new energy council to be led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that will seek to expand U.S. output of oil and gas. The U.S. is already the world's largest producer of those fossil fuels.
In addition, Trump said more than 600 million acres of offshore federal waters are now open to oil and gas development after Biden had taken them off the table.
Trump lifted the freeze on export approvals on the evening he came into office for a second time.
Commonwealth LNG, which has waited longer than any other company for its permit, wants to build a 9.5 million metric ton per annum export plant in Louisiana to sell to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the U.S.
Two other LNG companies, Cheniere and Energy Transfer, have said they plan to move full speed ahead with their plans to export the fuel.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner; editing by Deepa Babington)
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