Sempra Energy’s (NYSE: SRE) Cameron LNG, one of the leading proponents of natural gas export terminals in the U.S., is requesting approval for an expansion of its Hackberry project in Louisiana, Bloomberg reported Feb. 24.

The joint venture with France’s GDF Suez SA and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. filed for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to increase the number of liquefaction trains at the plant to five from three, Cameron said in a statement distributed by PRNewswire Feb. 24.

The project is among several proposals to tap into ample supplies of gas from shale rock in the U.S. and an extensive pipeline network to meet demand from Japan, South Korea and other LNG importers.

FERC permits pave the away for the U.S. Department of Energy to consider if the project can ship LNG to countries with which the U.S. doesn’t have a free trade agreement.

The expansion, which also includes an additional LNG storage tank, would increasing production capacity by 9.97 million metric tons a year, to 24.92 million.

“The expansion project will allow Cameron LNG to export additional LNG from low-cost, reliable U.S. LNG supplies to international markets,” CEO Farhad Ahrabi said in the statement.

LNG plants cool gas into liquid form before loading the fossil fuel into ships for export.