April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Energy

Transfer ( ET ) said on Wednesday it entered into a nonbinding

agreement with MidOcean Energy to jointly develop the Lake

Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana.

MidOcean will pay for 30% of the construction costs of the

facility and receive 30% of the LNG production, or roughly 5.0

million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). Energy Transfer ( ET ) is the

developer and operator of the plant.

The agreement is nonbinding because it depends on Energy

Transfer ( ET ) making the final investment decision to go ahead with

the plant.

Energy Transfer ( ET ) now has final sales agreements and

nonbinding sales agreements for 16 million metric tonnes per

annum of the 16.5 million MTPA capacity for the plant.

The agreement should move Energy Transfer ( ET ) closer to making

the final decision on the plant.

LNG developers typically use sales and purchase agreements

when they make their case to banks to borrow the money they need

to develop production facilities.

Lake Charles was the first LNG project impacted by the Biden

administration's refusal to grant an extension to Energy

Transfer's ( ET ) license to export to countries other than those that

have free trade agreements with the United States. Former

President Joe Biden subsequently declared a moratorium on new

export licenses for LNG plants pending an environmental impact

study.

Non-FTA licenses are important for LNG project developments

because they allow U.S. producers to sell LNG to most importing

countries, and not just those that have free trade agreements

with the U.S.

The administration of President Donald Trump has issued

several non-FTA licenses since it lifted Biden's moratorium, but

has yet to grant an extension or a new license to Energy

Transfer ( ET ).

Under the agreement, MidOcean Energy will have the option to

arrange for its own gas supply for its share of LNG production

from the plant, and will commit to long-term gas transportation

on Energy Transfer ( ET ) pipelines, the companies said.