Woodside in Talks to Sell Stake in Louisiana LNG

Woodside has talked to at least three potential partners for the Louisiana LNG project, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources as saying the suitors include Japan’s JERA and Tokyo Gas, along with Aramco-backed MidOcean Energy.

Per media reports, the Australian energy major is looking to sell 50% of Louisiana LNG’s first phase of development, which is estimated to cost some $16 billion. This first phase will have an annual production capacity of 11 million tons of liquefied natural gas. Upon completion of all four phases, Louisiana LNG should have a total capacity of 27.6 million tons of the superchilled commodity.

‘;
document.write(write_html);
}

The Louisiana LNG project was called Driftwood LNG until it changed owners following Woodside’s acquisition of troubled energy player Tellurian last year for $1.2 billion. The deal “adds a scalable US LNG development opportunity to our existing approximately 10 Mtpa of equity LNG in Australia,” Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said at the time.

“Having a complementary US position would allow us to better serve customers globally and capture further marketing optimization opportunities across both the Atlantic and Pacific Basins.” Tellurian had been trying to secure funding for the project and start construction for years but it kept running into obstacles.

The decision on the new partner or partners in Louisiana LNG should be made by next month, per plans, after which Woodside should make the final investment decision on the facility. According to the Reuters sources, the company will be asking premium prices for the LNG once the facility begins operating.

Louisiana LNG is part of the next wave of LNG capacity set to come on stream in North America in response to the bullish demand outlook for natural gas. U.S. LNG exports are expected to jump by 15% in 2025, reaching almost 14 billion cu ft daily, thanks to higher export capacity with Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG and Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3 plants.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com