Sinopec signs China's largest long-term LNG contract with US firm

China's Sinopec has signed a contract with US Venture Global LNG to buy 4 million tonnes of LNG annually for 20 years

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BEIJING (Reuters) -China's Sinopec has signed a contract with U.S. Venture Global LNG to buy 4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually for 20 years, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

The LNG will be supplied from Venture Global's plant in Plaquemines, Louisiana, and the deal is the largest LNG long-term contract signed between China and the United States, the agency said.

It did not specify the value of the deal or when supply would begin.

In October, Reuters reported that China had agreed three huge LNG deals with the firm as Beijing seeks to secure long-term supplies amid soaring gas prices and domestic power shortages.

Separately, Unipec, a subsidiary of Sinopec, will also buy a total of 3.8 million tonnes of LNG from the Calcasieu Pass project owned by Venture Global LNG.

Sinopec expects natural gas prices in China to rise at least 20% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, as officials of energy firms estimate gas demand will rise 10% this winter.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Shivani Singh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)