Woodside Energy has struck long-term deals to supply LNG to German utility Uniper, with half of the gas to be sourced from the Australian group’s planned Louisiana plant in the US.
The 13-year agreements provide for Woodside to supply Uniper with one million tonnes a year from Louisiana LNG on the Gulf of Mexico, providing added sales security to the project and the company ahead of a looming development decision.
Up to another one million tonnes a year of LNG for Uniper will be sourced from Woodside’s Australian production and global trading portfolio.
The deals are conditional on Woodside approving development of the first three of five proposed LNG trains at the Louisiana export facility.
Woodside chief executive chief executive Meg O’Neill said the supply agreements with Uniper, a customer since 2022, were an important milestone in moving Louisiana LNG towards a final investment decision.
“Uniper’s commitment speaks volumes about Woodside’s track record as a trusted LNG provider, built on decades of delivering reliable and flexible supply solutions for our global partners,” Ms O’Neill said.
Louisiana LNG was already under construction when Woodside acquired the project last year in its $US900 million purchase of US group Tellurian.
Just last week, Woodside announced the sale of a 40 per cent stake in the project to infrastructure and real estate investor Stonepeak in return for its new partner picking up $US5.7 billion of the cost of the project.
As Woodside sought other partners willing to buy into Louisiana LNG, “these agreements reinforce the project’s unique advantages and its economic competitiveness”, Ms O’Neill said.
Uniper chief executive Michael Lewis said the agreements would support “the potential development of additional gas-fired power plants in Germany to complement the renewable build-up”.
“Long-term LNG contracts like this contribute directly to the competitiveness of European industry,” he said.
https://thewest.com.au/business/oil-gas/woodside-energy-signs-up-german-utility-for-long-term-lng-from-new-us-plant–c-18402700
