UPDATE 2-Britain's Grain LNG and Venture Global sign long-term LNG deal

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LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - National Grid's Grain LNG on Monday announced a long-term terminal use agreement (TUA) with Venture Global LNG, enabling the UK-based regasification and sale of liquified natural gas from all of Venture Globals LNG's terminals in Louisiana.

In its first investment in LNG infrastructure outside the United States, Venture Global would have access to 3 million metric tons per annum (3 mtpa) of LNG storage and regasification capacity at Britain's Isle of Grain LNG receiving terminal for 16 years beginning in 2029.

The agreement, for the equivalent of up to 5% of average UK gas demand, is the second announced under Grain LNG's competitive auction process launched in September for 9 mtpa of existing capacity.

The U.S. has become the biggest exporter of LNG to Europe as EU countries raced to replace Russian fuel since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

More than 60% of U.S. LNG exports have gone to Europe in the past two years, with Venture Global exporting about 75% of its cargoes to the continent.

"The Grain LNG terminal is an important gateway to the broader European market and we look forward to supplying the region through this new access point for years to come," said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel.

Energy giants Shell, BP, and other European companies including Edison, Polish state energy company Orlen and Spain's Repsol have filed contract arbitration claims against Venture GLobal LNG on the lack of LNG cargoes provided under their contracts.

The companies complained that they have lost billions of dollars in sales because Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass export facility has been producing and selling LNG for more than 20 months while saying it cannot provide them with term-contract cargoes while the plant is undergoing a commissioning phase.

Venture Global LNG told a U.S. regulator in Jnauary that it cannot meet contracts to provide LNG cargoes to several major customers because its export plant is not ready to meet three criteria in the contracts.

Located on the Isle of Grain in Kent, Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal is currently being expanded and will soon have capacity to store and deliver enough gas to meet its target of about a third of the UK’s gas demand.

Last week Grain LNG signed a 10-year deal with Sonatrach to extend the Algerian company's long-term storage and redelivery capacity at the terminal beyond January 2029. (Reporting by Deep Vakil and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru and Marwa Rashad in London, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman )