Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- BG Group Plc may apply for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate by the end of 2012 to export liquefied natural gas from the U.S., a company official said in Washington.

BG Group, based in Berkshire, U.K., is considering modifying its Lake Charles, Louisiana, terminal to start exporting LNG in 2018 at the earliest, Elizabeth Spomer, a senior vice president for business development, said today in an interview in Washington.

BG Group and its partner, Southern Union Co., applied for a Department of Energy permit for the project in May, she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katarzyna Klimasinska in Washington at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Geimann at sgeimann@bloomberg.net