MOSCOW: A U.S. subsidiary of Russia's state-controlled natural gas giant says it has signed a letter of intent to obtain 100 percent of the capacity of an LNG terminal planned for Quebec.

The export subsidiary of OAO Gazprom says it has reached a deal with its partners in the Rabaska terminal project to become an equity partner in the project.

The partners are Canada's Gaz Metro LP and Enbridge Inc. and France's Gaz de France.

Gazprom Marketing and Trading USA announced the deal Thursday.

Gazprom aims to make North America a prime market for liquefied natural gas from the vast Shtokman field in the Arctic. The field is in the early stages of development.

<-- sidebar -->