(Yicai Global) March 26 -- European oil and gas giant Total will join hands with China’s Shenergy Group to sell liquefied natural gas in the Asian country that has ambitious environmental goals.

The pair penned an agreement to form a joint venture to sell the 1.4 million tons of LNG supplied by Total each year to customers in eastern China's Yangtze River Delta, the Paris-based company said in a statement on its Chinese website on March 23.

China, which already is the world’s largest natural gas importer, has announced its aim to become carbon neutral by 2060 after peaking its carbon emissions by 2030. One part of that is increasing the portion of low-emission fuels in its energy mix. Some 15 percent of the country's primary energy consumption should consist of LNG by 2030, up from 2019's 8 percent, according to the government's earlier estimate.

Shenergy's partnership with Total secures its long-term, reliable LNG supply for the Yangtze River Delta, said Wang Zhehong, vice president of the Shanghai-based state-owned company. The JV should help improve the region's air quality while reducing carbon emissions, Wang added.

The agreement provides an excellent opportunity for Total to enter China's downstream LNG market, said Stephane Michel, president of the firm's gas, renewables and power business. Moreover, the cooperation is in line with Total's strategy to expand its natural gas value chain, she added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi