📌 Australian energy company Woodside Energy has announced its intention to acquire Tellurian and its Driftwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in the southern United States for approximately $900 million. This strategic move reinforces Woodside's commitment to the US market, where it already owns the majority of the Shenzi oil and gas field and plans to invest $5 billion in new energy projects by 2030, including a hydrogen project in Oklahoma.
The purchase of Tellurian, supported by the directors of the target company, allows Woodside to position itself more strongly in the Atlantic and Pacific basins, optimizing its global marketing capacity. This acquisition is a reflection of Woodside's appetite to join the wave of consolidations in the energy sector, as Chevron and Exxon Mobil have done with their recent acquisitions.
Demand for natural gas, considered by many investors to be a key transition fuel to cleaner energy, continues to rise. According to the International Energy Agency, the LNG market will remain fragile in the near term, although a significant increase in liquefaction capacity is expected by 2030. The US LNG industry has faced regulatory challenges, such as the suspension of permits by the government of Biden, although this measure was later blocked by a federal judge.
Tellurian's plans to build five LNG processing units in four phases, with the capacity to produce up to 27.6 million metric tons of LNG annually, present a significant opportunity for Woodside. The company expects to make a final investment decision on the first phase of the Driftwood LNG project in the first quarter of 2025.
This acquisition not only expands Woodside's presence in the LNG market, but also strengthens its relationship with Bechtel, a key contractor on its projects in both the United States and Australia. Together, these strategic moves underline Woodside's ambition to lead in the global energy transition and capture new opportunities in the dynamic LNG market.
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Vice President Of Business Development at Sarens US
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