GDF Suez to sell U.S. LNG to Japan

PARIS, May 19 (UPI) -- French energy company GDF Suez said it signed a long-term deal to deliver U.S.-sourced liquefied natural gas to Japanese utility company Tohoku.

GDF Suez under the terms of the agreement will deliver up to 270,000 tons of LNG per year from the Cameron LNG plant in the United States.

"This sales agreement seals our first long term LNG sale with a Japanese partner, as well as the emergence of US LNG contributing to Japan energy supply, thanks to the benefit of the shale gas revolution in America," GDF Suez Executive Vice President Jean-Marie Dauger said in a statement.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued its final environmental impact statement on the Cameron LNG facility in early May. The construction and operation of the facility in Cameron Parish, La., would result in some environmental damage, but that damage would be rendered "less-than-significant" by the company's proposed mitigation strategies, FERC said.

The project will be able to export about 12 million tons of LNG sourced from U.S. natural gas basins each year and is the sixth such project in the United States to receive non-FTA approval since 2011.

GDF SUEZ is a member of the consortium leading Cameron LNG development.