Suitors keen to buy into Woodside Energy projects

It is understood that a Japanese suitor is shaping up to be one of the most likely buyers of a stake in Woodside’s Louisiana project.

Suitors in talks with Woodside Energy to buy a stake in its multibillion-dollar US Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG development are also showing interest in taking part of its Scarborough asset in Western Australia.

It is understood that a Japanese suitor is shaping up as one of the most likely buyers of a stake in the Louisiana project.

However, DataRoom understands that there are suitors seeking to take a stake in both Driftwood and Scarborough.

A deal involving about 20 per cent of Driftwood could cost a buyer about $500m, according to market estimates, while a 10 per cent stake of Scarborough may be worth about $1bn.

As earlier reported by DataRoom, Woodside has been inundated with offers for Driftwood LNG.

Potential suggested buyers include EIG, Saudi Aramco, Chesapeake, some Japanese customers, US-based Williams or even an infrastructure group like GIP, which bought a 49 per cent interest in its Pluto Train 2 joint venture – a component of Woodside’s Scarborough development in Western Australia – back in 2021.

That deal resulted in
GIP funding $US822m of its capital spending costs.

There have been offshore reports that Tokyo Gas is in talks to buy a stake.

Woodside announced its deal to buy Tellurian in July in a transaction worth $1.8bn.

The deal included Tellurian’s owned and operated US Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG development opportunity.

A transaction would offset costs of the development for Woodside.

Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG facility in Louisiana has the capacity to export 27.6 million tonnes a year.

That is almost three times Woodside’s output from its Australian projects.