Woodside, page-4803

SYDNEY--Woodside Energy floated the possibility of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, buying a stake in its newly approved Louisiana LNG project after signing a collaboration agreement with the giant producer.

Woodside said the nonbinding agreement with Aramco, signed in Riyadh at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, paves the way for both companies to explore global opportunities. It said those opportunities include Aramco's potential acquisition of an equity interest in Louisiana LNG and supply of liquefied natural gas from the $17.5 billion project.

Woodside late last month made the decision to build Louisiana LNG, targeting first production of LNG in 2029. Louisiana LNG's initial phase involves construction of three units able to produce up to 16.5 million metric tons of LNG annually, although Woodside holds permits to produce as much as 27.6 million tons of LNG per year.

The company recently agreed to sell a 40% interest in the entity that owns infrastructure supporting Louisiana LNG to Stonepeak for $5.7 billion.

Chief Executive Meg O'Neill said on April 29 that Woodside was involved in intensive discussions with a couple of parties interested in participating in Louisiana LNG, without identifying them.