News: VEA Australia's Woodside in talks to supply LNG to Viva Energy's Geelong refinery

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Petroleum (WPL) is in discussions for supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to an LNG import terminal that Viva Energy (VEA) plans to build in Victoria state, the two companies said on Thursday.

Viva and Woodside have agreed on a framework and timeline to negotiate capacity rights for Woodside, the country's biggest independent oil and gas company, to regasify LNG for sale into Australia's east coast market, which is expected to face a gas supply shortfall from the mid-2020s.

The deal potentially gives Viva's terminal a leg up over a rival project in New South Wales, the Port Kembla LNG import terminal which is backed by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest. The Port Kembla terminal is yet to line up LNG supply sources.

Viva Energy said it plans to make a final investment decision on the project by the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

"Working to secure regasification capacity at Viva Energy's proposed import terminal aligns with Woodside's future production profile and the ongoing needs of east coast Australian customers," Woodside Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill said.

Viva Energy said it also signed an agreement with Norway-based Hoegh LNG Ltd to charter a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for the proposed Geelong terminal.