US-based ExxonMobil Corp announced a sales and purchase agreement with Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group for liquefied natural gas supply on Monday, under which Zhejiang Energy is expected to receive 1 million metric tons of LNG annually over 20 years.

"This sales and purchase agreement represents an important milestone and provides a solid foundation for our strategic partnership with Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group and ExxonMobil shares Zhejiang Energy's vision in developing a major LNG gateway in the Ningbo-Zhoushan region," said Peter Clarke, senior vice-president of LNG at ExxonMobil.

"We look forward to continuing our support for Zhejiang Energy during the construction, commissioning and operation of its Wenzhou LNG receiving terminal."

A ship unloading LNG in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. Yao Feng / For China Daily

This is also part of Zhejiang province's efforts to further expand its LNG terminal receiving capacity, cooperating with foreign oil and gas companies, to help quench the nation's growing thirst for clean fuel amid green push.

China imported more than 53 million tons of LNG last year, reaching a new historic high by accounting for 60 percent of total natural gas imports, Zhang Jianhua, head of the National Energy Administration, said earlier. The country has also been stepping up construction of its LNG infrastructure facilities in recent years.

Analyst said terminals, being a core infrastructure of the LNG import trade, have attracted many private companies in recent years amid China's rising demand for the cleaner fuel.