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By Curtis Williams and Pranav Mathur

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Commonwealth LNG said on Tuesday it signed a 20-year sale and purchase agreement to supply Mercuria with 1 million metric tons per annum of liquefied natural gas.

According to the terms of the deal, Mercuria will provide the equivalent amount of natural gas - estimated at 133 million cubic feet per day - to Commonwealth, which will then convert it into LNG for Mercuria to purchase.

Commonwealth, which is majority owned by energy asset managing firm Kimmeridge, has been attempting to build the U.S.'s first integrated LNG export facility, in which Kimmeridge will supply gas from its Eagle Ford shale production to the plant.

Mercuria is one of the world's leading energy and commodities companies, with significant interest in oil and gas trading.

“This agreement reflects Mercuria’s commitment to securing long-term, reliable LNG supply from high-quality U.S. projects,” said Brian Falik, President of Mercuria Americas.

The U.S. is the world's biggest exporter of LNG, surpassing previous leaders Qatar and Australia.

Last year, President Donald Trump lifted a pause on new LNG export permits, which the previous administration imposed in 2024 to review public interest criteria.

Commonwealth has secured long-term agreements to sell 7 million tons per year of LNG from its permitted 9.5 million-ton capacity, with commitments from major energy companies including Glencore GLEN.L, Japan's biggest power generator JERA, Malaysia's Petronas PGAS.KL, EQT EQT.N, and now Mercuria.

Analysts believe that the company is only 1 mtpa short of what it needs to make a positive financial decision on the project and Commonwealth has said it wants to give approval for the project to go ahead by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru, Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Nick Zieminski)

((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))