Woodside Energy has closed its $900 million cash acquisition of Tellurian Inc. and its U.S. Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG development opportunity for $1 per share. Woodside said the implied enterprise value of the deal is approximately $1,200 million.

Woodside has renamed the Driftwood LNG development Woodside Louisiana LNG.

The facility under-construction is a pre-final investment decision (FID), liquefaction and export terminal in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. The development has a total permitted capacity of 27.6 million tonnes per annum.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said bringing Woodside Louisiana LNG into its global portfolio represented a new chapter for the company.

“This is a major growth opportunity that significantly expands our U.S. LNG position, enabling us to better serve global customers and capture further marketing optimization opportunities across both the Atlantic and Pacific Basins,” she said.

In September, O’Neill said during the Gastech conference in Houston that Woodside would maintain at least a 50% interest in the LNG facility but the “exact structure might vary.”

“Our acquisition provides a new strategic direction for this development,” O’Neill said in an Oct. 8 press release. “Woodside’s world class expertise in project execution, operations and marketing means we are well-positioned to unlock the development and generate value.”

At a time when LNG facility permit authorizations have been held up by the Biden administration, Woodside Louisiana LNG is fully permitted, its FEED is complete and the site’s civil works are well advanced.

Woodside is targeting FID readiness from first-quarter 2025, with members of the Tellurian team and engineering, procurement and construction contractor Bechtel having completed substantial work to advance the project, she said.

“We are also pleased with the inbounds received from multiple parties looking to enter the opportunity as a strategic partner,” she said.

Woodside has said it is interested in various partners, including U.S. upstream E&Ps that want exposure to international pricing; strategic LNG players interested in building out their position; infrastructure players; and U.S. companies specializing in moving “products from Point A to Point B.”

Comments