KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian state energy firm Petronas has secured its first term liquefied natural gas contract to India.

The oil and gas company said in a statement Thursday, its subsidiary, Petronas LNG Ltd. (PLL) signed a sale and purchase agreement with Indian Hiranandani Group's subsidiary H-Energy Mideast DMCC (HEMD) for the supply of LNG to India.

The agreement was signed on Jan. 24 between PLL's chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Ezhar Yazid Jaafar and HEMD's CEO Darshan Hiranandani, according to the statement.

Ezhar Yazid Jaafar said the agreement with HEMD marks a milestone for PLL as the first term LNG contract to India.

"It is also in line with Petronas's growth strategy to expand its LNG supply and help meet rising demand for clean and reliable energy in the fourth-fastest-growing economy in the world," he added.

Petronas, the world's third largest LNG player, operates its main supply base in the Malaysian eastern state of Sarawak.

Dubai-based HEMD is a wholly-owned subsidiary of H-Energy Global Limited (which is a part of Hiranandani Group). The focus of its business is to secure supply and trade LNG, crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals.