EXCLUSIVE-Venture Global's arbitration settlement announced Oct 9 involved Chinese firm Unipec, sources say

By America Hernandez, Francesca Landini and Curtis Williams

HOUSTON/PARIS/MILAN/LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The settlement of an arbitration announced on October 9 by Venture Global VG.N involved Unipec, a trading unit of Chinese state-owned oil and gas firm Sinopec 600028.SS, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

Venture Global first announced the resolution on Thursday without disclosing the other party involved, adding the agreement would have no material impact on its business.

Unipec had previously entered into a fixed-price, three-year take-or-pay sales purchase agreement for one million metric tons per annum from Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass LNG export plant in Louisiana, according to a regulatory filing in March.

While it did not name the company, Venture Global also said at the time that a mid-term customer had been seeking damages of around $200 million.

The Chinese firm sued for arbitration in late 2023, becoming one of seven Venture Global customers to ultimately do so, claiming the U.S. supplier breached its contract by selling cargoes on the spot market before honoring its long-term purchase agreement.

Venture Global declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Unipec did not immediately respond to a request for comment.