Trunkline LNG officials announced on Thursday that the company has applied for a construction authorization permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand the Lake Charles plant.

The company’s announcement comes just two days after U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D–La., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, urged FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur to approve Sempra Energy’s application for a construction permit to expand its Cameron LNG plant in Hackberry.

Located on Big Lake Road, Trunkline has been an import facility since its opening in 1981. Now officials from Energy Transfer Equity, Trunkline’s parent company, are looking to expand the plant with three new liquefaction trains that will increase the plant’s liquid natural gas production and allow the company to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. The trains are expected to produce up to 13 million tons of LNG each year.

The project’s cost has been estimated at $11 billion. FERC must approve the project before construction can begin.

At its peak, Trunkline’s expansion is expected to create about 5,000 construction-related jobs. Work on the project is scheduled to run from 2015 through 2020.

When the plant’s new trains go into operation, about 250 permanent jobs will be created, including control room personnel, engineers, cryogenic experts and supervisors, said Jamie Welch, global chief financial officer for Energy Transfer Equity.

Energy Transfer received conditional approval from the Department of Energy for Trunkline’s non-FTA permit in August.

Welch told the American Press in October that Energy Transfer expects to receive FERC’s approval on the project by the end of March, 2015.Trunkline LNG’s Lake Charles terminal