Aramco eyes stake in Woodside's Louisiana LNG project

Aramco is looking to acquire an equity interest in Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project, along with LNG offtake

The two companies have signed a collaboration agreement to explore global opportunities, which also include potential collaboration in lower-carbon ammonia.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill commented, “We are excited to explore new opportunities with Aramco. This collaboration aligns with Woodside’s strategic vision to build a diverse and resilient global portfolio. It leverages our growing relationship with one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, to explore new opportunities which deliver value for both parties.

“It is also another demonstration of the ongoing interest Louisiana LNG is generating among high-quality potential investors, following our recent agreement with Stonepeak to acquire a 40% interest in the project’s infrastructure holding company.”

The Louisiana LNG project and export terminal envisages the construction of five LNG plants through four phases. Woodside announced a final investment decision to develop the foundational phase, a three-train, 16.5 million tonnes per annum LNG development, on 29 April. Woodside is targeting first LNG in 2029. Development of Louisiana LNG will enable Woodside to deliver approximately 24 Mtpa from its global LNG portfolio in the 2030s, and operate over 5% of global LNG supply, according to the company.

The move also represents a further step in Aramco’s strategy to become a leading global LNG player and grow its gas portfolio to meet the rising global demand for lower-carbon forms of energy as the energy transition progresses. It follows the signing of an agreement with Sempra last year relating to LNG offtake of 5.0 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) from the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 expansion project, where it will also potentially have a 25% participation in the project-level equity of Phase 2, and the acquisition of a strategic minority stake in MidOcean.

The collaboration agreement was signed in Riyadh at the Saudi-US Investment Forum attended by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump. Aramco signed of 34 MoUs with major US companies, covering collaborations and partnerships in areas including LNG, fuels, chemicals, emission-reduction technologies, AI and other digital solutions, manufacturing, asset management, short-term cash investments, and procurement of materials, equipment, and services.