Oil and gas giant Woodside has agreed to sell a 40% interest in its Louisiana LNG project to global investment firm Stonepeak.
Under the transaction, Stonepeak will provide $5.7 billion towards the expected capital expenditure for the foundation development of Louisiana LNG on an accelerated basis, contributing 75% of project capital expenditure in both 2025 and 2026.
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This enhances the project economics and Woodside’s cash flow profile ahead of revenues from Woodside’s Scarborough gas project in Australia.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said, “We are very pleased to have Stonepeak join us in Louisiana LNG, given their demonstrated track record investing in US gas and LNG infrastructure across LNG facilities, LNG carriers, and floating storage and regasification units.
“This transaction further confirms Louisiana LNG’s position as a globally attractive investment set to deliver long-term value to our shareholders. It is the result of a highly competitive process that attracted leading global counterparties and significantly reduces Woodside’s capital expenditure for this world-class project.
“The accelerated capital contribution from Stonepeak further enhances Louisiana LNG returns and strengthens Woodside’s near-term capacity for shareholder distributions.
“Our partnership with Stonepeak, together with our lump sum turnkey EPC agreement with Bechtel, and existing regulatory permits, give us confidence to progress at pace towards a final investment decision on Louisiana LNG.”
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Stonepeak senior managing director and head of US private equity James Wyper said,
“With the need to bring significant additional capacity online over the coming years, we have strong conviction in the critical role Louisiana LNG will play in the US LNG export market.
“The project represents a compelling opportunity to invest in a newbuild LNG export facility nearing FID approval with an attractive risk-reward profile and best-in-class partners in both Bechtel and Woodside to construct and operate the asset.”
