Cheniere Inks 15-year LNG Sales Pact with Vitol

Cheniere Energy Inc said on Monday that it signed a 15-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world's largest oil trader, Vitol Inc.

Cheniere said it will sell 700,000 tonnes of LNG every year to Vitol, starting 2018 and the purchase price will be pegged to the Henry Hub monthly average, plus a fee.

The United States has become a major LNG exporter in the last two years, mostly due to the ramp up of Cheniere's Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. Houston-based Cheniere is also building the Corpus Christi terminal in Texas. An executive of Switzerland-based Vitol said earlier in May that its future growth would increasingly be driven by gas and LNG, especially in emerging markets.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shounak Dasgupta)