Woodside sells 40% stake in Louisiana LNG to investor Stonepeak for $5.7bn

Australia’s Woodside Energy has reached an agreement to sell a 40% interest in its Louisiana LNG facility to infrastructure investor Stonepeak for $5.7bn, the gas producer announced on April 7.

The announcement comes after hinting for months that it would add partners to the project in a push to make a final investment decision (FID).

“The addition of an infrastructure partner unlocks value and paves the way for other strategic equity partners,” Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill said in a statement.

In an interview with Reuters in November, O’Neill stated that the Australian firm would seek to add a number of partners and relinquish up to 50% ownership of the project.

Under the terms of the deal, US infrastructure investor Stonepeak will bankroll 75% of capital expenditure in 2025 and 2026 to boost the project’s finances and cash flow.

Woodside acquired the project in October 2024 from financially troubled US LNG developer Tellurian in a deal worth $1.2bn. The project at that time was known as Driftwood LNG. Construction of the facility commenced in 2022.

Located in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, the project is planned to be built in four phases with a total production capacity of 27.6mn tonnes per year (tpy). Construction of the first phase is predicted to come with a price tag of around $16bn.

Woodside had been seeking to complete securing financial backing by March in order to take FID on Phase 1 by the end of the first quarter of 2025. The company opened discussions with potential partners last September and among the companies it held talks with were Japan’s JERA and Tokyo Gas along with Saudi Aramco-backed MidOcean Energy.

In addition to the Louisiana LNG facility on the US Gulf Coast, Woodside also owns a majority stake of the Shenzi oil and gas field located about 200 km off the coast of Louisiana.