BEIJING: China's Sinopec has signed a contract with US 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.

Sinopec's Jan-Sept net profit soars nearly 150pc

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.