Woodside approves Louisiana LNG development

Woodside is positioned to become a global LNG powerhouse following our historic decision on 29 April to approve the Louisiana LNG development.

Development of Louisiana LNG will enable Woodside to deliver approximately 24 Mtpa from its global LNG portfolio in the 2030s, operating more than 5% of global LNG supply.

"Louisiana LNG is a game-changer for Woodside, set to position our company as a global LNG powerhouse and enable us to deliver enduring shareholder returns," CEO Meg O’Neill said.

With first LNG targeted for 2029, Louisiana LNG represents a compelling investment that will deliver significant cash flow and create long-term value for our shareholders. It exceeds the company’s capital allocation targets, delivering an internal rate of return (IRR) above 13% and a payback period of seven years.

Woodside celebrated the announcement at an event hosted by Governor Jeff Landry in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The US$17.5 billion production and export facility represents the largest single foreign direct investment in the State of Louisiana’s history, and is the first greenfield US LNG project to go to final investment decision (FID) since 2023. It will support about 15,000 national jobs during construction.

In the weeks leading up to FID, Woodside secured important agreements to support development of Louisiana LNG. These were:

• Energy infrastructure investor Stonepeak agreeing to acquire a 40% interest in Louisiana Infrastructure for US$5.7 billion. (7 April).
• European energy company Uniper signing a sale and purchase agreement with Woodside for 1 million tonnes per annnum (Mtpa) from Louisiana LNG, plus another 1 Mtpa from our global portfolio. (17 April).

The day following the FID announcement, Woodside also announced a long-term agreement with bp for the supply of up to 640 billion cubic feet of natural gas to our Louisiana LNG project, starting in 2029. Meg said Woodside has had a long history of successful collaboration with bp.

She described the new gas supply agreement with the global energy giant as an important step, not least because it will allow Woodside to draw upon bp’s experience with MiQ certificates. MiQ is a not-for-profit global leader in methane certification. It recently certified bp as the first energy major in the US to verify 100% of its US onshore portfolio of natural gas.

“By drawing upon bp’s experience with MiQ certificates, we can access verifiably low methane intensity molecules for the Louisiana LNG project. This supports Woodside’s goals as a member in the UN Environment Programme’s OGMP 2.0 initiative.”