* Pavilion to buy 0.4 mln tpy LNG from BP for 20 years
* Aims to become a global LNG firm in medium to long term
* Working with SGX, regional govts on LNG price marker (Adds deal with Sempra)
By Florence Tan and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Singapore's Pavilion Energysaid it had signed two long-term contracts to buy liquefiednatural gas (LNG) for trading and supply to Asia, adding to aprevious contract as the state-owned firm seeks to become aglobal supplier.
Pavilion Energy said in a statement on Wednesday its whollyowned subsidiary Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd had struck a deal with BP under which the British company will supply it with 0.4million tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG for 20 years from 2019. Itdid not say how much Pavilion would pay for the LNG.
Pavilion has also purchased 0.4 million tpy of LNG fromSempra Energy's Cameron LNG project in Louisiana, whichwill be delivered to Asia according to its production schedule,a company spokeswoman said in an email.
The U.S. Energy Department on Sept. 10 gave Sempra the greenlight to export LNG from the project.
Singapore aims to position itself as an LNG trading hub forAsia, with links to producers such as Indonesia, Malaysia andAustralia and countries with growing demand such as China, Indiaand Thailand.
Temasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealthfund, created Pavilion last year, providing it with a $6.9billion war chest. Pavilion has already used the funds to buy astake in a gas field in Tanzania and start an LNG shipping jointventure.
A month ago, Pavilion signed a 10-year deal with France'sTotal to buy 0.7 million tpy of LNG from 2018.
BP will supply the LNG from its global portfolio of equityand merchant sources, Paul Reed, chief executive of BPIntegrated Supply and Trading, said in the statement issued byPavilion.
"This includes the Freeport LNG Project in the U.S., whereBP holds tolling rights and which is expected to reach a finalinvestment decision before the end of 2014," Reed said.
Pavilion Energy said the time was ripe for an Asian LNG hubas import-export terminals and storage facilities are in placeand the region is gradually shifting from long-term contracts toa spot market.
The company is also working with the Singapore StockExchange, IE Singapore, regional governments and commodityexchanges to develop a Singapore LNG price marker, Seah MoonMing, chief executive of Pavilion Energy and Pavilion Gas, saidat an industry conference.
The price gauge will be independent of the oil market andbetter reflect regional demand-supply balances, Seah said.
LNG sold to Asia is mostly pegged to the Japan CrudeCocktail (JCC) price, which is often higher than gas pricebenchmarks in Europe and the United States.
Asian buyers currently pay a premium for LNG, which amounted to almost $130 billion in 2012, according to Pavilion Energy.
While the recent downturn in spot prices "posed a pricingchallenge for gas producers, it was a wonderful opportunity fortraders who were able to buy and store spot for seasonal trade",Seah said.
Pavilion Energy has stored an LNG cargo at the Singapore LNGterminal for trading purposes, he said. (Editing by Joseph Radford, Muralikumar Anantharaman and JaneBaird)
BP (BP.)
