TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Kyushu Electric Power ( KYSEF )

said on Thursday it will sign a 20-year purchase

contract with U.S. energy firm Energy Transfer ( ET ) to buy up

to 1 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year from

its Lake Charles LNG project.

It marks the Japanese utility's first long-term LNG purchase

deal from the United States and is expected to diversify the

company's procurement sources and contribute to stable supply,

the company said in a statement.

A company spokesperson declined to disclose the contract's

terms or the timing of the signing, but said that imports are

expected to start in 2030, if the project proceeds as planned.

Although Kyushu Electric had also considered investing

in the Lake Charles project, the spokesperson said it ultimately

decided against it, citing a "lower priority compared to other

internal investment opportunities".

The contract is on free-on-board (FOB) terms with no

destination restrictions, allowing the utility to procure LNG

flexibly in response to fluctuations in electricity supply and

demand, such as adjusting receipt timing at its discretion or

selling to other companies when demand is low.

Earlier this month, Energy Transfer ( ET ) said it was nearing a

go-ahead on its Lake Charles LNG project after an unnamed

Japanese company agreed to buy 1 million metric tonnes of LNG

from the proposed export facility.

Energy Transfer ( ET ) said at that time it had 10.5 MTPA of its

targeted 16.5 MTPA in committed LNG sales and that it was

confident it could reach a final investment decision by the end

of the year.

U.S. President

Donald Trump

has

pushed allies

like Japan and South Korea to buy U.S. oil and gas while

threatening tariffs on their exports.

When asked whether Kyushu Electric had received a

request from the Japanese government to purchase U.S. LNG, the

company spokesperson said it had not.