HOUSTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas export plant, idled for five months by a fire, must receive full approvals before a planned November restart can begin, regulator Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) said on Wednesday.

Full approval adds to the hurdles for restarting Freeport LNG, one of the earliest and biggest U.S. export facilities. The closely-held company aims to restore more than 85% of pre-fire processing capacity next month and complete repairs to bring the facility back to 100% by March.