BP to export LNG from Texas HOUSTON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Houston company Freeport LNG said it entered into a 20-year natural gas deal with British energy company BP for a proposed loading facility in Texas. Freeport LNG Expansion said the 20-year deal with BP for 4.4 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas follows similar deals reached last year with Japan's Chubu Electric Power Co. and Osaka Gas Co. "We believe that this is an attractive value proposition and a complementary position to BP's existing portfolio of equity and third-party LNG contracts," Paul Reed, the top executive at BP Integrated Supply and Trading, said in a statement. Construction is subject to regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy. Construction approval is expected later this month. New technology used to extract natural gas from U.S. shale has positioned the country as a world leader in terms of reserves, though trade is restricted by the lack of LNG export terminals. The company said it would take about four years to complete construction once it receives regulatory approval. A final investment decision is expected later this year.