Australia's Woodside to buy U.S. LNG

PERTH, Australia, July 1 (UPI) -- A Singapore subsidiary of Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said Tuesday it signed a deal to secure liquefied natural gas from a facility in Texas.

"From a geographic, pricing and specification perspective we expect this U.S. LNG to be attractive to LNG purchasers, complement our existing LNG portfolio and allow us to exploit new opportunities," Woodside Chief Executive Officer Peter Coleman said in a statement.

Woodside Energy Trading Singapore Ltd. signed a binding agreement with Cheniere Energy to buy approximately 850,000 tons of LNG per year from an LNG export facility being developed near Corpus Christi, Texas. The 20-year agreement for Woodside includes an option to add another 10 years to the contract.

Cheniere said in a separate statement the LNG would be loaded onto vessels secured by Woodside. First deliveries of LNG are expected by 2019.

To date, Cheniere said it's entered into sales purchase agreements for 6 million tons of LNG per year. Construction on the LNG export facility is expected to start early next year.