Malaysia's state-run oil and gas company Petronas has agreed to sell 420,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year to a Japanese firm, Shikoku Electric Power Company Inc., local press reported Saturday.

Shikoku Electric, Japan's eighth largest power company, will use the LNG supply to generate electricity, starting from April 1, 2010, according to a five-year agreement inked Friday between a Petronas subsidiary, Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG), and Shikoku Electri.

The LNG will be transported from the Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu, Sarawak state, to Shikoku Electric's new receiving terminal in Sakaide, Japan, on LNG tankers owned and operated by Petronas' another subsidiary, the New Straits Times reported.

Petronas said the agreement marks another milestone in the long- term relationship between MLNG and its Japanese customers.

The deal brought MLNG's portfolio of Japanese customers to 15, said the report.

Source: Xinhua