The developers of the Annova liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas are pushing regulators to greenlight the project months after a decision was due.

In a letter sent Monday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Annova LNG chief executive Omar Khayum said the permitting delays were holding up commercial deals.

"Indeed, our potential customers and investors routinely cite delay in Commission action on the pending permit as a critical issue in their decision-making process on key commercial activity," according to the letter.

Khayum also said the planned 6 million tonnes per annum facility, which is being led by utility Exelon, has already met all the requirements for a permit and the developers have answered all information requests from the agency.

Ferc's schedule for Annova LNG identified 18 July of this year as the deadline for all federal action on the facility. But only one LNG project, the small-scale Eagle LNG facility in Jacksonville, Florida, was on the docket for the September meeting held last week. A schedule for the October meeting has not yet been released.

Khayum's letter comes as Ferc continues to work without a full complement of commissioners. Only three of the commission's five seats have been occupied since Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur--the most senior member of the panel--departed in July.

The Commission can still make decisions with three members, but it may not run as efficiently, according to Center for LNG executive director Charlie Riedl.

"I think the issue or the concern just is that not having a full complement of commissioners limits Ferc's ability to basically get through their orders," Riedl told Upstream on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Houston last week.

Riedl said several LNG developers are concerned because they have not yet received their Ferc permits despite having met the requirements.

"Some of the bigger projects that are ready to get their Ferc certificates haven't gotten them and weren't on (the September) agenda, it was sort of concerning and troubling to see that," he said.

Things could get better if rumours pan out that US President President Donald Trump president is expected to nominate Ferc general counsel James Danly to fill one of the open seats. However, the tapping of Danly, a Republican, could prove controversial as the President is expected to break with tradition by not pairing it with the nomination of a member of the opposition Democratic party.

"I think that is an important component to it especially as we move in the next 12 to 15 months into a full election cycle and potentially see the election of a new president," Riedl said. "That is one of the many reasons that I think a lot of these projects who are trying to get their final certificate from Ferc are trying to get this done as quickly as possible."