SYDNEY (Reuters) -Woodside Energy, Australia's top natural gas producer, said on Tuesday it would seek to sell a further 20%-30% stake in Louisiana LNG, with interest growing in the $17.5 billion project since its final approval last week.
Liz Westcott, chief operating officer for Australia, said the planned selldown of Woodside's wholly owned holding company for the project would allow it to achieve its target of 50% overall ownership.
"Our goal will be to sell down in the order of 20%-30% of Hold Co. That will give us a targeted investment capital of around 50%," she told the Macquarie Australia Conference.
Woodside gave the final go-ahead for Louisiana LNG last week, confident a pro-fossil fuel U.S. administration and demand in Europe and Asia would deliver an internal rate of return of 13% and a payback period of seven years.
The project is expected to deliver first gas in 2029 and generate $2 billion in annual net operating cash in the 2030s.
The approval came after Woodside agreed to sell a 40% stake in the project's infrastructure company to investor Stonepeak, who will contribute $5.7 billion towards the expected capital cost.
Woodside's goal of a 20%-30% selldown came in line with analyst expectations, who saw further divestment as crucial to reduce risks with the project and validate its worth.
Conversations with potential partners were also continuing and more parties became interested after the project was greenlit, Westcott added.
"We're going to be patient and make sure we get the right parties, but we're also keen to move along as well," she said.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Stephen Coates)
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