HOUSTON, March 5 (Xinhua)-- Houston-based Cheniere Energy is sending its first shipment of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India on Monday, according to the United States Energy Association (USEA).

Cheniere signed a 20-year deal to supply 3.5 million tons of LNG annually, a deal worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Barry Worthington, executive director of the USEA, said, "Today's shipment is significant because it means security for the world's third largest energy consumer. Other countries are trying to secure their own resources in the face of rising energy demand marked by a projected 30 percent increase in global energy consumption by 2040."

The deal was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last summer.

The United States is the world's largest natural gas producer, a leading supplier of LNG, and is expected to become the largest producer of crude oil this year.

Cheniere Energy is a leading exporter of LNG with its own LNG export terminal in the United States, the first in the country.

The International Energy Agency released an energy outlook report on Monday, which says both China and India, boosted by their economic growth, will import more oil and gas in the coming years.

Cheniere announced on Feb. 9 that it has struck two long-term deals to sell LNG to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). It will sell about 1.2 million tons of LNG a year to CNPC as part of two sales agreements that extend through 2043. Shipments will begin this year.

During Trump's first visit to China in November, Cheniere signed a memorandum of understanding with CNPC for long-term LNG sale and purchase cooperation.