French oil and gas giant Total SA (NYSE: TOT) has signed a deal to make purchases of liquefied natural gas for Cheniere Energy Partners LP’s (NYSE: CQP) new LNG export plant.
Under the terms of the 20-year deal, Nasdaq reports, Total will buy about half the volume of a fifth train for the Louisiana export facility.
The arrangement will let Cheniere begin developing the new train; the project at Sabine Pass had earlier been slated for just four trains. Now, a sixth train isn’t out of the question.
Like many other companies that have not yet been approved for exports, Cheniere is trying to exploit the U.S. natural gas boom through its Louisiana project. Total hopes to buy 2 million tons a year from the train’s yearly capacity of some 4.5 million tons.
Currently, the first two trains are in process, and the next two are expected to be developed in 2013.
The agreement goes into effect on the date the fifth train makes its first commercial delivery (expected early 2018) and could be extended for an additional decade.
On Tuesday morning, Cheniere was up 1.46% to $21.55. Total’s American depositary shares rose to $51.52, up 0.64%.
