Cheniere Marketing International LLP (CMI), a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, said Wednesday it has a five-year agreement (SPA) with France’s ENGIE SA to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes on an ex-ship basis to the Montoir de Bretagne LNG regasification terminal in France.

Under terms of the SPA, ENGIE, which until last April was GDF Suez, would purchase up to 12 cargoes per year — up to about 222 billion Btu total — between 2018 and 2023. CMI would sell the volumes at contract prices linked to Northern European indices.

Cheniere said the LNG would be sourced from CMI’s global supply portfolio, which includes rights under separate SPAs with Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC and Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC to acquire LNG produced from the two projects. On a combined basis, CMI’s portfolio is expected to have about 9 million metric tons a year of LNG available from nine liquefaction trains being developed at the two projects.

“This SPA with ENGIE furthers our strategy of supplying LNG to European markets and diversifies our marketing portfolio with sales tied to Northern European price indices,” said Cheniere CEO Charif Souki.

The LNG could alternatively be shipped to other European LNG terminals, ENGIE said.

“ENGIE is committed to guarantee the supply of its European customers with clean and reliable energy. Importing U.S. LNG will participate to strengthen the security of supply of Europe,” said ENGIE Executive Vice President Pierre Chareyre, who is in charge of the Global Gas and LNG business line. “Besides, in the context of the energy transition, natural gas is the perfect partner for renewables energies, since it is flexible and abundant.”

ENGIE controls a fleet of 14 LNG carriers under medium- and long-term charter agreements and claims a significant presence in regasification terminals around the world. It is one of the joint owners of the Cameron LNG export project in Louisiana, along with Sempra Energy, Mitsui and Japan LNG Investment LLC.

Souki recently indicated that the first train at Sabine Pass continues to progress toward online status, but the first export might not be until next year, which would miss a previous target (see Daily GPI, Oct. 20). Sabine Pass is expected to be the first U.S. Lower 48 LNG export terminal to enter operation.

Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC and Sabine Pass LNG LP received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorization last week to deliver and store propane and ethylene refrigerants for the first train of the project [CP11-72].

FERC last week also approved construction of pipeline and other facilities proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line LLC, or Transco, which would serve the Sabine Pass (see Daily GPI, Oct. 23).