U.S.-based Venture Global LNG signed a 20-year agreement on Dec. 20 to sell LNG to a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).

The agreement marks the first LNG supply agreement signed by a U.S. exporter with CNOOC, China’s largest importer of LNG.

“China is critical to global climate efforts, and LNG supplied by Venture Global will serve as an important addition to their low carbon energy mix for decades,” CEO Mike Sabel commented in a company release.

Venture Global is building or developing over 70 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG production capacity in Louisiana, including two 10-mpta phases at Plaquemines, with the first phase expected to enter commercial service in 2024. The company’s other projects under construction include the 10-mpta Calcasieu Pass, 20-mtpa Plaquemines, 20-mtpa Delta and 20-mpta CP2.

The new long-term partnership with CNOOC builds on Venture Global’s continued momentum in what Sabel described as a “very active 2021” with agreements to sell LNG to units of several companies around the world, including two 20-year deals announced in October with China’s state oil giant Sinopec for a combined 4 million tonnes of LNG per year.

In its partnership with CNOOC, Venture Global will supply 2 million tonnes of LNG per year from its Plaquemines LNG export facility in Louisiana to CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co. Ltd. The company will also purchase 1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility for a shorter duration, according to the company release.

China is set to become the world’s largest importer of LNG in 2022, a move in line with the country’s climate targets, according to Shi Chenggang, chairman of CNOOC Gas & Power, as LNG is largely viewed as a transition fuel away from coal plants.

“As China’s largest LNG importer, CNOOC is committed deeply not only to the mission of securing China’s gas supply, but also to the climate goals of building a carbon-neutral China by 2060,” Chenggang commented in the release.